Next X
by Taylor Monroe
Summary: Taylor Monroe always though of himself as a normal kid, until he found out that he was a mutant. His mother, Ororo, never told him, and now with newfound powers, he tries to figure out his new life and his new love intrest....Slash themes...R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1-Homo Superior**

A bright ray of sunshine gleamed through the window of Taylor Monroe's room. He looked at his clock. "Shit…" It was already seven, he was going to be late. He jumped out of his all-to-comfortable bed, and ran into the shower. A burst of cold water really woke him up, as the shower let loose it's refreshing gift. He always did take long showers. Reaching into the cold, humid air of the bathroom, he grabbed a white towel and wrapped it around his slim waist, before stepping out of the glass box. The shower took a long time, but the real mission was his hair. He had incredibly thick, shoulder-length, white hair. It made for some interesting talk at school; it's not every day that you see someone who actually looks good with white hair, not all old and dorky. Taylor wasn't really sure why he had such strange pigmentation in his hair, he figured it was genetic. His mother, Ororo Monroe, had the same regally thick white hair. It contrasted with her mocha skin beautifully, giving her a royal air about her. She was tall and slender, but gave a powerful presence to anything she did. Taylor had some of her better qualities, her high cheekbones, prominent jaw-line, and sensual eyes, were his. He did, however, have some of the good qualities given to him by his father. His strong shoulders, long, powerful legs, and just over-all strong body, was his father's. He also had his dad's amazing stubbornness, which his mother kept reminding him. His father died when he was three, and Taylor had witnessed it. Most of it he had forgotten, but the knowledge that he had witnessed it haunted him. His skin was a mix of Ororo's mocha skin, and his father's fair milk-like skin. He was a mutt; his skin was the perfect mix. Taylor's reminiscing was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. He ran down the stairs and sunk down into his favorite chair, as he picked up the phone. Taylor lived alone, when he turned eighteen, his mother moved to the school that she taught at, in order to make her job easier. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngster's, that's what it was called. He had always figured that they taught child prodigies or something. Ororo had never really given out any details about the school. Returning his attention back to the phone, he waited and tried to guess who it was. Looking at his watch, and realizing it was seven forty-five, he figured it was Hunter. "Hey Hunt, I know I'm late." "I told you that you would be late." He was right, Taylor was always late. Hunter was his best friend, and knew him really well. "So did you sense that it was me?" "Yup, I always know." Taylor did seem to always be able to tell who was on the phone, or even who was at the door. It was kind of freaky, but Taylor enjoyed it. "Hunt, I'm on my way, it only takes me like ten minutes to get to the school; I'll be there in a sec." "Alright, hurry." "Ok, bye." With a thud and a jump, the phone was hung up and Taylor was running up the stairs. He threw on some very tight 501 Levi's, to accentuate his "nicer" features, and an old Abercrombie shirt, which also seemed a size too small. When you got it, flaunt it, was Taylor's philosophy, and he did his best to flaunt everything. One last glance in the mirror told Taylor that he was ready to head off. Jumping over the banister and landing on the first floor with an earth shattering thud, Taylor shut off all the lights and proceeded into the garage. He smiled every time he entered that old garage. Waiting inside was his favorite gift from his mother, a gorgeous electric-purple Hummer, an H2. He opened the garage door, ready to re-release his baby into the wild. Taylor jumped into the car, which screamed louder than the pumped-up speaker system inside, and cranked up that radio. Tinted window down, Versace sunglasses on, Black Eyed Peas blaring, Taylor screeched out of his driveway like a bat out of hell, a bat that was making a school call.

The highway was perfectly crowded for eight in the morning. Even the fast lane was backed up, meaning he was stuck for a while. "So much for ten minutes…" The sun was beating down, and the wind had stopped blowing. What had started out as a perfect day had gotten progressively worse in a matter of 30 minutes. Taylor's CD had played out, the radio was playing nothing, it was hot, he was late, the day was now officially bad. "Could I please get a break?" Taylor was speaking to everyone and no one, but as his frustration rose, he noticed a break. Along the side of the road was an access ramp, leading down to a small, heavily wooded dirt road. Nothing his H2 couldn't handle. Slowly and carefully, Taylor inched his way to his freedom. He made it. The road was clear, and as he moved further from the highway from hell, he gave a large breath of relief, maybe he wouldn't be as late as he thought. The road began to clear, and at the end of a long, bumpy, woodland stretch, Taylor came upon another highway. Taylor knew that, even if it went parallel, he could still reach his destination quicker now. This east-west interstate had one thing wrong with it…no cars were on it. "This is…well…weird." As happy as Taylor should be, with no traffic, he felt more concerned at his discovery. Turning his car into the shoulder of the highway, he jumped out to inspect the road. Nothing was wrong with it, it was just empty. Then things began to get weird. Glancing down this mysterious occurrence, Taylor's attention was turned back to the car. His radio, which had blanked out in the traffic, suddenly burst into maximum volume, and began broadcasting a disturbing report. The station was almost all screaming. The sounds filled the empty highway, making Taylor feel as if the screams were coming from it. Taylor heard cries of pain and torment as well as cries of fear and escape. He had to stop it, he couldn't handle it anymore. Then he heard his name, as he got closer. "Taylor! Run! Quickly Get Away!" This strange female voice was speaking to him through the radio. He heard urgency in her pain ridden voice, compelling him to run. He ran towards his car and, jumping into the driver's seat, shut it off. "No, Taylor get a grip. I'm hallucinating, from the sun. That's what's happening." He took a deep breath and, putting the sounds from his mind, reached for his cell phone. Bringing it to his eyes, he glanced to the familiar screen of the gadget. Immediately he threw it down. Where he normally held a picture of a mask, there was a face, screaming towards him, looking directly into his eyes. "No, Stop!" Taylor jumped out of his car, hysterical. "What do you want!" He stared in every direction, waiting for an answer. Just then, a car drove up behind him, a hunter green jeep. Taylor knew this car, and felt better when Hunter got out from it. "Hunter." Taylor threw his arms around his friends' broad shoulders. Hunter was strong and handsome, in a "home-fed Iowa boy" way. With cropped blond hair, thick jaw, large powerful chest, tree-trunk legs, Hunter was a football force to be reckoned with. Taylor was in love with Hunter, because he knew how great a guy he was. He also knew that their friendship was too great to be ruined by romance, and Hunter was an arrow when it came to sexuality. Taylor knew that behind those pale green eyes was the heart of a warrior and the soul of a father. Hunter had always been there for him, and was comfortable enough to hug Taylor. "What's wrong?" "I don't know. Hunt, something is wrong with…everything." He still held tightly on to Hunter, who knew something was wrong. "Come on, let's go." Hunter gently put Taylor in the driver's seat of the H2 and set him up to follow him. "We need to get you out of he…" Hunter stopped and turned his face upwards. The sky, which had been hot, sunny, and beautifully blue, was now a pale shade of grey. With a snap Hunter focused on something that was coming up on the road behind them. "Shit…" He turned his attention back to Taylor. "Taylor drive. Now. Go." He slammed the door. Walking towards the center of the road, Hunter stripped off his jacket to reveal a tight leather suit underneath. Tapping a small ear-piece in his left ear, Hunter made what seemed to be a short phone call. "Jean, I need back-up…" The words were muffled, but Taylor could make those words out. Rolling down the window, loosing his state of shock, he began to question Hunter. He was used to Hunter protecting him, but this seemed to be serious. "Hunter…what's happening?" "Taylor, bud, I'm serious you need to…oh god, they're here. Taylor Drive!" Reluctantly listening to his friend's plea, Taylor put the pedal to the metal and took off. The last thing he saw was a dark figure approaching Hunter. "I hope he's alright. What was that?" Taylor wasn't really concentrating on driving, his concern overpowered reasonable thought. Taylor was getting ready to turn back when something hit him. The car began to shake and something large came and hit the side, flipping it violently. The last thing Taylor remembered was being thrown through the window and landing with a sharp thud on the pavement.

"It was an ambush. I'm not sure why they were there, but they wanted him, badly." Taylor could hear Hunter's voice. "If Hunter hadn't thought to go out there, we would have lost him." The woman who was talking had a calming voice but he wasn't sure who it was. Taylor's body ached, but considering the accident he had, the wounds didn't seem too bad. Slowly opening his eyes, Taylor could make out blurry shapes and colors. He figured it was a bedroom. Making out a mahogany dresser, and matching desk, Taylor wasn't sure where he was. There were several figures at the foot of the bed. He knew Hunter from the body, he knew his mother from the hair-skin combo, but the other three were strangers to him. He couldn't even make out their faces. "So are you going to tell him now?" "About what?" "About him being a mutant." That word. Did they just say that he was a mutant? Taylor shot up in the bed faster than a cheetah at full speed. "I'm a what?" "Taylor!" His vision immediately cleared as he made out the shocked faces of his mother's friends Scott Summers, Jean Grey, and Logan…well he had no last name that Taylor knew of. Taylor knew that none of them had realized that he would be awake. "I'm a what?" His mother sat down next to him, placing her arms around him. "Honey, um…we need to talk."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Taylor's fury was unmatched at the moment. They were all in the library of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, but none of them were expecting to read. Jean, Scott, Logan, Hunter, Ororo and Taylor were all there. "We were trying to protect you." Logan, sat in the only comfortable chair in the room, but as comfortable as he was the situation wasn't. "From what…!" "…From a life of discrimination and hardship. Your father and I agreed to try to give you as normal a life as possible." Ororo's voice was sweet and calm, Taylor could feel her trying to calm him down. It wasn't working. "So you didn't tell me that both my parents were mutants! And that I'm…I'm a freak!" Taylor screamed at her, showing her that he wasn't about to be calm. "Taylor you must understand, your father died so that you could live a normal life." informed Jean. "Well that plan backfired, didn't it!" Taylor continued as he turned towards his best friend. "And Hunter you knew! And didn't tell me!" "Well...I...um..." "Don't bring Hunter in to this, it's not his fault." said Scott "Why should I even bother, I don't know you guys anymore!" Taylor began to leave the room. "Taylor..." Ororo reached for her son, sympathetically. "Don't..." Logan put his hand on Ororo's arm "...he's too afraid to face up to this." Taylor immediately turned around with the fury of an army in his eyes. "Afraid... Afraid! Don't talk to me about being afraid! My father died in front of my eyes when I was three years old. For the last ten years my life has been a haze of death and destruction. All my friends, dying in fatal "Accidents" and now finding out that because my genetic make-up is different that it was my fault! And you never told me! Wherever I went I knew I could sense that someone was watching me. Adding to the fact that now you telling me that living as a mutant means being discriminated against for the rest my life adds to my new chipper outlook! Now, you guys may be older and have gone through things a lot tougher and scarier, but I'm only 18 and I already life my life in fear and worry. You're plan to keep my life normal wasn't working in the first place!" They were all stunned by what Taylor had said, especially Ororo. She had always been worried about the life that Taylor would have had to live if he knew, but now, finding out that maybe she made the wrong choice almost brought her to tears. Taylor stormed out the door. Ororo followed soon after, hoping to mend the rift, just created by their argument.

"Taylor…" Ororo walked into the dark office across the hall. Taylor was sitting on the wooden chair, facing the door. His slender hands held his face and hid his eyes from his mother. She pulled another chair up next to him and sat down. "Are you Ok?"

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I'm not really as mad as I seem."

"What do you mean?" Ororo put her arm around him.

"Well, all my life I've wanted to save people and make a difference…and now…I guess I really can." She was silent. "What's wrong?"

"You sound just like your father."

He chuckled. "I know."

"Do you remember your father?"

"Yes."

"Then, Taylor you have to understand that your father wanted you to have a normal life for as long as possible, that's why we kept if from you."

"I guess I understand."

"Being a mutant in the world we live in is hard. Mutants are ridiculed every day just because we are different. Society has returned to the racist days of the fifties and sixties, this time mutants are at the back of the bus."

"I just hate to be lied to."

"I know, honey. But we were also protecting you from other mutants that may not like us."

"Why? If we're all the same why don't they?"

"Why don't they what?"

"Like us."

"Because we are not like Magneto and his Brotherhood, under Professor Xavier we are trying to learn to live with normal humans."

"Magneto…" Taylor remembered his father mentioning that name before he died.

"Yes, Magneto, an extremely powerful magnetic field controlling mutant, is convinced that a war is brewing between man and mutant. That is why we created the X-men, to stop him."

"The X-men? You guys are…"

"Yes." She smiled.

"Can I help?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can I join the X-men?"

"Taylor, It's way too dangerous. What if something happens to you?"

"Mom, I'm 18 I can take care of myself. Dad believed that and you should too."

"You're just like your father, stubborn." She smiled.

"I know."

"C'mon lets go back with the others." She got up and started walking towards the door. "Wait, I have one more question." He stopped her. Ororo turned around. "What?" "Well…what exactly can I do?"

"How do you think Taylor's handling this?" They were all concerned. Scott was pacing defiantly and anxiously by the closet. Jean and Hunter were both sitting on opposite sides of the, now made, bed and Logan was broodingly leaning against a wall. "I thought he would have taken the news better." Hunter thought that Taylor would love idea of having superpowers; it did explain Taylor's strange life. "He did take it kind of harsh." Jean stood up and began to fold put up some of the supplies that she had used to mend Taylor's wounds. "It ain't easy to find out you've been lied to all yer life." Logan looked towards Scott annoyingly and grabbed his shoulder. "Stop pacing." Hunter and Jean could feel the tension. Scott and Logan had never really liked or respected each other. "Fine." Breaking the icy silence, Jean dropped back down onto the bed. "I just hope he's alright." "You hope who's alright?" Their attention was turned to the door as Taylor triumphantly walked in, followed by Ororo. "Taylor." Hunter stood up swiftly and hugged his returning friend. "Are you alright, man?" Taylor gave him a puzzled look. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" They immediately all stopped and glared at him. "What?" Taylor looked genuinely worried, that something had happened. "Well, aren't you mad?" "No, not really." Hunter and Jean looked really confused. His answer even caused Logan to raise an eyebrow. "Why?" Hunter asked very slowly, trying to make Taylor understand what he had just said. "Because I'm an X-man, the name's Psiclone." He smiled. Their looks changed immediately to surprised, as glancing from each other to Taylor they screamed in unison. "What!" Logan seemed the most surprised by this, as he took the issue directly to Ororo. "Storm, you're allowing this?" "It's Taylor decision." Taylor ran between them and stared directly into Logan's fierce brown eyes. "And my decision is to join." "No, you can't." Logan stepped towards him, acting like they were fighting. Jean and Scott exchanged surprised glances. "Why not?" "Look Taylor, I've known you since you were…what three? What if something happened to you? What do you think would happen to Ororo? Or Hunter? Or…or the rest of us?" He knew somehow that Logan meant to say 'Or me?'. But Taylor still couldn't believe that Logan was being protective of him. Logan had known him for a long time, but he never expected him to act like a father figure, being so protective. It was kind of attractive. "Well, I can protect my-self." "Prove it." "Well…if you insist…" Taylor's face lit up with an idea. Concentrating hard, he began to lift the bed, without touching it, and with Hunter still on it. Slowly it moved above Logan and tilted slightly, startling Hunter, who didn't know what Taylor was doing. "Whoa! Can we…um…stop this?" Hunter was freaking, he had a strong phobia for heights. Letting his friend and the bed down, Taylor turned with an accomplished look on his face. "There see…" "That was a parlor trick, try again." White knuckles shown, as Taylor clenched his fist in frustration. "Well, what do I have to do to prove myself?" Logan turned quickly and, extending his claws, smiled. "If you want to play with the big boys you gotta get rough." Taylor smiled back, as his tightened fist began to shimmer with static electricity. Taylor rose up his hands, palm up, towards the charging Logan and shocked the older man's body with a large lightning bolt. Smoke and fog filled the room, a result of the power surge. Ororo ran towards Taylor, but was held back by Jean. "Shouldn't we stop them?" "Don't worry, Logan wouldn't dream of hurting him, trust me." As the smoke cleared, Logan pounced on Taylor and attempted to slice Taylor's neck. Using his telekinesis Taylor stopped Logan's hand, and raised it to Logan's own neck. "Now who's playing rough?" Taylor seemed to have won. Logan stood up and, dusting himself off as he walked from the room, gave a thumbs up to Scott. "He's in." Taylor jumped with joy. "Yes!" Ororo rushed from Jean, to an excited Taylor. "Are you Ok?" "Mom, I'm fine. More than fine, I'm in!" "Oh no, Scott." In the midst of Taylor's celebration, he had failed to notice the hole he had created on the wall behind the area where he and Logan were 'fighting'. Hunter, feeling better now that he was back on the ground, casually walked over to the hole and placed his hand next to it. Jean stepped back as a mirror-like silvery liquid began to extend from Hunter's hand. The liquid covered the hole, in its entirety, and hardened into a beautiful chrome surface. Taylor walked next to Hunter and slowly placed his hand in the wall. A cool tingling was sent through Taylor's spine as he touched the silver substance, it was metal. "Wow, Hunter where did you learn that trick." Taylor was surprised. He obviously had realized that Hunter was a mutant, but hadn't even thought about asking what he could do. "Well, that's my mutation. I have the organic manipulation and materialization of any natural metallic substance." Taylor frowned. "In English, please." Hunter laughed as he grabbed Taylor's shoulder, leading him out of the library. "I can control and create metal." "Oh, awesome." Taylor flashed his pearly whites towards Hunter. "Wanna see what I can do?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- New Acquaintances**

The door burst open with the urgency of a hospital emergency room. Taylor set down eight large suitcases on the floor of his new school issued room on the top floor of the mansion. "I…had to ask….for a view." Taking deep breaths between each word, he regretted not packing light. "And…of course…why would…there be an elevator." Ororo had decided that since he now knew about his mutation, and because he was now a team member, that he should stay and take classes at the Academy to help him master his skills. Taylor had agreed and started to move. His condo, which he loved very much was sold to a newlywed couple for a decent price. The money went into Taylor's private account and what items he couldn't bring with him, he put in storage or sold. Now he regretted not selling more stuff. Turning around, he closed the bleak wooden door of his new confines. This move was going to be a major change. He loved living alone, but here he was a member of a collective of people, of mutants. "Don't be such a drama queen, Taylor." He had to admit, it was a nice room. There was a large four poster bed in the middle of the far wall, accented by a cliché set of windows on each side. There was a dresser across from the bathroom, both to the side of the bed, and a large mirror was crudely tacked on the door behind him. The curtains were a hideous olive color with small yellow-orange flur-de-lis imprints on the edges. This fate also condemned the bed; its comforter was practically strangling its restful appeal. The bland wallpaper, the worn burbur carpet, the pale cherry wood furniture, the old-fashioned pink bathroom, and the dead plant in the corner of the room, all gave Taylor the impression that no one had occupied the room for quite a while. He decided to ignore the sad state of the room for the moment, as he silently unpacked his stuff. Once everything was freakishly organized and put where Taylor thought it should go he surveyed the room again. "Now, what to do about the room…" Taylor thought for a while and didn't have a clue as to how to make this frog into a prince. As he glanced around the room, he noticed a small hitch in the application of the wall-covering. This, being the only wall without anything like a door or window, was where the dresser was located, and it looked as if something should be there. Trudging through the sea of suitcases, he made his way to the crack and gently pulled on the loose piece of paper. With a gentleness of a mother towards her baby, he tore the paper from the wall, revealing a quite interesting surprise. Underneath this mask of cream, he found a beautiful mural. When he pulled the piece, it acted as if it was a mummy unraveling, and the whole wall of paper was removed. The mural was a scene from The Phantom of the Opera; a dark river accompanied by a boat with a lovely young woman and a masked Phantom, heading towards his lair. The second half of the mural was the final scene of the play, when the woman and her lover were leaving the Phantom's lair, together. This just happened to be Taylor favorite play, and its beauty made it look to be professionally done. "If this was underneath, then I wonder…." He ran to the next wall, where the bed was located, and began to thoroughly rip and slash away at the paper. Taylor ripped through the entire room, leaving a trail of paper shreds behind him. While not as exciting as the first discovery, the other three walls were equally as beautiful. Behind the bed, acting as a painted headboard, was an elegant drawing of the poster from the opening of Phantom set into a traditional opera marquis. Above each window was another drawing of a poster in a marquis, the left had a poster for the Phantom's opera in the play, Don Juan Triumphant, and the right held a poster for Hannibal. The wall with the door to the hallway and the bathroom had lovely ornate borders around the doors and at the wall-ceiling intersect. "This is gorgeous. Whoever painted these has amazing talent." He began to gather the paper into a trash bag, and realized how much of a change that made. It gave the room a darker more private feel, the wood in the furniture also looked darker and rustic. He took the sorry excuses for curtains down, and put up plain black, contributing to the darkness. Setting up all his other decorations, it came to actually look like the Phantom's cavern lair. Taylor surveyed the final product. "Much better." "Interesting touch." The voice from behind him startled him a bit, since he didn't hear the door open. "Thanks, I'm new here. The name's…" Taylor jumped when he turned around; he wasn't expecting to see what he did. Taylor turned around to see a demon. With short dark blue fur covering his body, pointy ears, a black devil's tail, yellow piercing cat-like eyes and only three appendages on each hand and foot, he could easily have frightened anyone. He was wearing gloves on his hands and feet and had a tight partial black leather jumpsuit, complete with X-men logo, on, but it made no difference in Taylor's reaction. "Are you alright?" Though he didn't mean to, Taylor suddenly realized he had been staring, like it was a train wreck you just couldn't turn away from. "Oh, sorry" "Tis' all right mien freund, growing up looking like this, I've heard it all." This…creature seemed very kind, his thickly accented German voice came off sweetly, despite his evil look. Taylor, trying to be polite after he had already messed up, held out his hand. "I'm Taylor." "Kurt Wagner, but in the Munich circus I was known as the incredible Nightcrawler. I heard from Professor Xavier that you are a new team member. I am, what you would call, the welcoming committee." He smiled displaying a bright white row of sharp fang-like teeth. "Oh, thanks. I'm sorry for reacting the way I did." "Tis' alright, I did sneak up on you, so it was partly my fault. Well, I must take my leave, but I wanted to tell you that if you need anything just yell, I'm only a Bamf away." "A Bamf?" Smiling, Kurt's body disappeared suddenly, leaving behind a large black and purple cloud of smoke that smelt of brimstone. "Um…sorry again… bye. I guess that was a Bamf." Taylor couldn't help but feel bad for Kurt. Taylor had seen a lot of things, but even he was startled by Kurt's appearance. "Kurt likes to make flashy entrances and exits, me…I prefer the door." Taylor wasn't sure where the voice came from this time, but was made aware when a young girl walked right through the closed door. Finally seeing a familiar face, Taylor gave the girl a large hug. The girl was slightly tanned, with gorgeous short red hair, that didn't go past the lobe of her ear. Wearing a pair of tight low-cut jeans, and a slim-fitting tank-top, one could tell she was a teenager. Kitty Pryde was her name. She was a fun and spunky girl who always knew how to have a good time. Taylor had known Kitty since he was five. His mother would bring Kitty over to their house to play and hang out, but he had never suspected that she was a mutant. They were best friends, Hunter was his best male friend, and she was his female best friend, his quote "fag-hag". There were things that he would never tell Hunter, but he could tell Kitty. "Hey Taylor. How are you?" "Um…hi Kitty. I'm good, I'm also now a mutant, but somehow I think you already knew that, since you just…um what did you just do?" "It's called phasing, I can change the density of my body, to allow me to walk through different forms of matter. Didn't know I could do that huh?" She smiled. She reached down into the small pocket of her tight jeans and turned up a small piece of paper. She handed the scribbled-on note to Taylor, who unfolded it. "This'll help. It's a list. The team and their mutations. I didn't include all of the students here, but you'll get to know them eventually, this may come in handier if you go on a mission with someone you don't know yet." "Thanks." "No problem, sweetie." The small piece of paper held a list of scratchy names and powers.

_Jean- Telekinesis and Telepathy (Scott's girl.)_

_Kurt- Teleportation and Cat-like Agility. (Really religious.)_

_Scott- Uncontrollable Optic Laser Blasts (long story)_

_Warren- Flight due to natural wings. (He's awesome!)_

_Logan- Healing abilities and Adamantium claws.(Kind of scares me.)_

_Professor X- Telepathy (He's really nice.)_

_Ororo(mom!)- Weather Control. (Your mom's really cool!)_

_Bobby- Organic control of Ice(He's cool, lol!)_

_John- Organic control of Fire (He's so cute!)_

_Kitty(me!)- Able to "Phase out" (Loads of fun! She's sooo sexy! Lol)_

_Theresa- Manipulation of sound waves. (She's a screamer. ) _

_Rogue- Able to absorb other mutants powers. (Scary!)_

_Hunter(BF!)- Organic control of Metal. (Ka-ching! Lol)_

_Jubilee- Creates blinding fireworks. (Special Effects!) _

_Taylor(you!)- Telepathy, Telekinesis, and Weather Control.(You have too many. )_

Taylor knew some of them but many of the names were new. He was about to meet more, though. As he glanced at the list, two more girls walked in. Taylor immediately looked up and got two very different vibes from each of these girls. The first walked in with the confidence of a thousand men, the long brown wavy hair flowing in the breeze created by her stride, added to her courageous appeal. Her tight fitting green miniskirt and haltertop, accentuated her fit figure, and showed off her "assets". Her deep blue eyes seemed to hold many mysteries, but also showed Taylor that no one will ever figure then out. The second girl seemed to be a loner. With a slight slouch, she acted as if afraid of others. She donned a long black trench coat, a black scarf, and black gloves, basically covering her entire body. Her hair also caught Taylor's attention, it was shoulder length, black, with a prominent ghost-white streak coming down over her pale face. The young girl seemed to avoid Taylor's gaze. "This is Theresa" Kitty motioned to the first guest. "And this is Rogue." While Rogue took no action in greeting Taylor, Theresa seemed all too eager to shake his hand. "Hi, nice to meet you. The name's Theresa Cassidy, or Siren if we ever go on a mish together." "Um…nice grip." Taylor's hand, which Theresa still held, was turning a pale shade of purple. She let go and her entire demeanor changed. She suddenly seemed silly, a bit embarrassed and almost shy. "Oh….I. hehe…um…sorry, got to go to class, c'mon Kit." She grabbed Kitty and Rogue and pulled them from Taylor's doorway into the quiet hall. "Taylor!" Kitty turned and, phasing, escaped from Theresa's grasp. "I'll meet you guys at class." Theresa shot a glance of slight anger towards Kitty, but it bounced off her friend's light attitude. "Sorry, she's very pushy when she wants to be. Mine and Rogue's room is down the hall and Theresa's is on the adjacent corridor. We have classes everyday, except of course on weekends, holidays, and any mission days."

"That's cool."

"Yeah,. Well I do need to get to class Scott gets really upset if people are late, so don't be late to his class, if you can help it."

"Ok, I won't. Kitty….wait."

"Yeah?"

"What's life like here?"

"Like, the academy?"

"Yeah."

"It's great, much better than our old schools. You don't have to worry about anyone thinking bad about you cause we're all the same. We're all mutants. And unlike evil mutants we want to make peace with the rest of humanity, not destroy it."

Taylor smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem, see you later." She ran out of the room. "Oh…and Taylor!" He leaned out of the doorway, hovering at an angle, acting as non-chalant as he could about using his powers. "Yeah." "Nice room." The sarcasm in her voice made him realize that his room was now kind-of over the top. Taylor closed his door and sat on his bed. He would fix it eventually, but right now a little over-stimulation was healthy for everyone here at the mansion. There was another knock on the door. Now what? "Who is it?" Taylor said annoyingly. "It's me." He recognized the voice, it was his mom. He got up and let her in. "Sorry about the 'tude." "That's quite alright, moving can be very stressful…" She looked around at his room. "I won't ask." Taylor laughed. "Thanks, What's up?" He asked.

"Well, I came to see how you were doing. But from the look of your room I guess the answer's fine."

"Yeah, I did a little redecorating."

"Well, good. I saw Kitty leave, you've been having visitors?"

"Yes, too many. First Kurt then Kitty, Theresa and Rogue."

"Ok, well I'll let you get settled in some more, you don't have classes for another two days, but first I need to tell you a few rules."

"Rules?"

"Yes rules."

"Ok." Taylor's voice mimicked a angry child, pouting.

"First, don't leave the academy grounds without one of us, as in the adults."

"I'm an adult."

"You know what I mean."

"Ok, I won't leave."

"Second, no one that isn't a student or part of the faculty is allowed to enter the mansion. Meaning no parties." She stared at him.

"What! It was one measly party."

"Measly? You caught the neighbors house on fire!"

"I put it out, and apologized."

"I know but still, no one. Understand?"

"Yeah, no one, gotcha."

"Ok, third, and this is my personal rule for you, don't go down to the beach."

"But it's not outside the grounds, I thought you said I could go anywhere on the academy grounds?"

"Well you can, except there."

"Why?"

"Because we don't have any surveillance down there." He could tell his mom was lying.

"What's the real reason?"

"Can you just obey me for once?."

"But…."

"Taylor please…" She stopped.

"I won't go down to the beach."

"Thank you."

She gave him a kiss and, criticizing some of the décor, left. Once he couldn't hear her footsteps he went to his window, opened it and looked down towards the water. "Mom, I love you, but you are an awful liar." Thinking about his mom's plea to obey he turned around and smiled. "I'm not about to start obeying now, not when I have super powers, I have to go down to the beach."

As night fell on the mansion, the whole of the activity of the mansion began to stop. Taylor found It began to get very late. Taylor decided that maybe he should get to bed, he starts classes the next day. Taylor took a shower, changed, and got in bed. He fell asleep almost immediately. Then, almost as fast as he went to sleep, he began to dream. He was seeing memories of his past, memories of the night his father died. It was very clear, almost real.

_It was a cloudy night. Taylor and his father were coming home from a baseball game. Yankees vs. Cardinals, Taylor remembered it well. They were driving down one of Manhattan's many streets. Suddenly the car turned and began moving down a dark alley. Taylor could see the fear in his father's eyes. Something was terribly wrong. Then the car stopped. Taylor's father, Caimen, turned to him. "Run Son, Get out of the car and run as fast as you can." Taylor couldn't grasp the severity of the situation, at the time. "But I thought we were getting ice cream." Caimen jumped out of the car and ran to Taylor's door, he opened it. He grabbed Taylor's wrist and pulled him from the car as it flew up and crashed into a brick wall. "Taylor, listen to me, I want you to run. Run home to your mother and tell her "He's out." Can you do that?" _

_"Okay, but Daddy…aren't you coming with me?" _

_"I can't."_

_"Why not?" _

_"Taylor just go."_

_His father turned to see a tall shadowy figure floating above the ground. "Taylor go..." His father was cut of as a metal beam had just wrapped itself around his neck. "No, I think the boy should stay." The man was talking. "I always need more members in the Brotherhood." Taylor saw his father struggling to say something. Taylor ran over to his father. "Daddy, I'm scared." Fighting to get air his father spoke the last words Taylor ever heard from him. "Be strong Taylor, fight for what you love...Goodbye, son, I love you." At that moment the metal beam literally ripped the head off of Taylor's father. Young Taylor, now realizing what happened began to cry hysterically. As tears tore their way from Taylor's eyes, he began to inch closer to the stranger. "No stay away, I don't like you. You hurt my daddy." And he began to scream at the top of his lungs. Suddenly he was grabbed by someone and pulled to the ground. Whoever or whatever held him began to soar away from the stranger at an amazing speed and height. Taylor looked back at the man who had just rescued him from his tormentor. He was no older than thirteen, with a look of protective innocence. Smiling at the now safe Taylor, he continued to carry Taylor away from the harsh madness of the world. The stranger was gentle with long blond hair, that fluttered gently in the breeze, and enormous satin-white angel wings. The last sound Taylor remembered of that night was the loud roar of a motorcycle as the final gift from his attacker reached them. It missed. Soon after, Taylor fell asleep, still crying over his loss but once again feeling safe in this wonderful boy's arms._

The loud roar of a motorcycle woke Taylor. His breathing was heavy and his body was drenched in sweat. A single tear rolled down Taylor's cheek, he had never felt as safe or as grateful to anyone as he had in the arms of that strange boy. Taylor deeply wished that he had known who that stranger was. As he got up to see what was going on, the thoughts of being held like that filled his head. He walked over to the window and, throwing back the curtains and opening the pane, glanced out towards the garage. The lights were bright and the doors were open as someone was working. "Who would be crazy enough to work on a bike now?" As he focused on the figure, his mind began to wander. Whoever this was had an amazing body. Taylor was almost entranced, watching the figures' strong muscles flex and move with the grace of a dancer. The figure brought his head out from under the bike. It was Logan. "Oh…um…well that explains it." This added to the awkwardness of the moment. Logan was much older than him, and had been like a father figure to him. His body was even more accentuated by the tight pair of jeans and tight, white, oil soaked muscle-shirt he was wearing. Taylor "knew" that Logan could sense him. Taylor watched as Logan slowly took off the shirt. Taylor could see Logan's muscles move and flex as he made adjustments to the bike, almost egging him on to watch. Snapping out of the trance, Taylor couldn't believe it, he actually was entranced by Logan. Taylor quickly closed the curtain. Trying to get the image of Logan shirtless and sweating out of his head he remembered about the beach. "Well, I guess now is as good a time as any." So, quickly throwing on some dark clothes, he snuck out into the hall. The entire floor was asleep, and Taylor could have easily heard a pin drop. So, the noise that echoed through the hall when he stepped on a rickety old floor-board sounded like a train wreck, in the midst of the silence. He froze dead in his tracks. Wait! What am I doing? Remembering that he now had amazing preternatural abilities, he flew up a few inches and started hovering towards the stairwell. Much better. Once he reached the staircase, he gently glided from level to level until, he was faced with the main hall. The lights were off in the hall but Taylor could see the alarm system was on and ready. Judging by the powers of the teachers here, Taylor figured that the alarms would probably trigger some horrifying disaster, so as gently as possible he raised his hand and sent a small bolt of electricity through it, to disarm it. It worked. He began to fly freely to the back door, picking up speed. However, when he passed the kitchen, which was on the most direct route to the back grounds, he heard some strange noises. He stopped, and floating down to the floor at the kitchen door, he pressed his ear to the keyhole and listened. The noises coming from that room were strong and passionate. Taylor knew the sounds of love when he heard them, but the odd thing was that he could only hear two men. Entranced by the action taking place behind the door, almost wishing he could join them, Taylor waited and continued to listen. The sounds grew louder and frenzied, the scents of musk and sweat filled Taylor's nostrils and willed him away, but he stayed, he wanted to know the men behind the door. He listened more carefully and, as the lust increased and the pleasure-full moaning grew, that's when he heard it. One of the mystery men had said Scott. Taylor acknowledged the possibility that it could have been a fluke on the part of one of the lovers, but when he heard it again he was convinced. Someone had said Scott, someone with a distinctively German accent. As quiet as he was when he entered the hall, Taylor slowly backed away from the kitchen door, leaving the lovers to finish their ritual.

Once he was outside he flew as fast as he could till he could see the specks of the sand swirling in the cool water. He immediately landed and began to walk, at a slow and constantly relaxing pace. Taylor was desperately trying to get the mental images he was generating out of his head as he continued walking, without much luck. Taylor was surprised, he had always thought of Mr. Summers…well Scott, as a tight-ass. The irony was not lost on Taylor; he began to laugh at his own wit. "I guess I should ask Kurt about it…" Strolling further down the beach, feeling the wind in his hair, the sand under his shoes, Taylor felt calm, at peace. The beach was very peaceful at night. As he walked he noticed a small slanted wooden shack about thirty feet from the shore, but he decided to avoid it. Taylor sat down on the beach and spread his arms open on the sand, thinking about all the events of the night. With the rythym of the night, and the breeze coming from the water it was not long until Taylor fell into a deep peaceful, dream-less sleep.

It was probably the best sleep Taylor had gotten in a long time. Turning away from the sun, he curled up with the soft blanket that he now held in his arms. Immediately Taylor shot up. He had fallen asleep outside, and now lay in a soft comfortable bed in a rather homey room. No bigger than a hotel room, the place had a single bed; a small kitchenette, complete with fridge and hot-plate; an obvious bathroom door, leading to a white tiled room; a small two-person dinning table, set for a breakfast for two; and a door leading somewhere else, probably outside. Being in a strange room made Taylor kind of freak out. Also realizing that he was now clad only in his boxers and an undershirt, Taylor began to really question where he was. Glancing around, he saw his clothes lying on a small dresser. A creak from the bathroom door caught his attention. Not moving much, but being prepared for the worst, Taylor was surprised to see a man, no older than his early 20's, walk into the room. "Well, I see you awake." Taylor looked at him, he was hot. Moving up from the towel, the stranger's chest was perfect. Smooth and tanned, his six-pack glistened from the water. Continuing up with his firm pectorals, his arms were long and resembled a warrior's. As he moved up the defined collarbone and long sinewy neck, Taylor arrived at the man's face. His long chestnut hair was messy from the shower and hung down recklessly, but at that instant he pulled it back to reveal the treasure beneath. Strong cheekbones, a beautiful jaw-line, fair skin, and crimson eyes, added to his appeal. His jaw had some slight stubble, giving him a ruggedly handsome look. He had a certain sexy air about him that made you want to go weak in the knees. He had a distinctive accent, if only Taylor knew where it originated from. "Are you gonna say sometin'?" Snapping out of his trance, Taylor immediately held out his hand. "Oh, sorry, Um…I'm Taylor. Taylor Monroe." "Nice to meet ya, Taylor. Remy LeBeau, but everyone calls me Gambit." Gambit's handshake was firm and soft, but also still wet from his shower. "Sorry 'bout de' water." "Hehe, It's ok." He was acting like Theresa did, when they first met, it was a sad sight. The Cajun walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, the towel riding up, but not far enough for Taylor to see anything. "Care for some breakfast?" "Sure." Slowly rising from his comfortable cocoon, Taylor trudged over to the table and sat down. "Eggs?" "Um…sure." Taylor wasn't really sure who Gambit was or why he was pampering Taylor, but he was cute so Taylor went with it. He also took the liberty to begin the real conversation. "Mind if I ask where your accent is from? Like, where did you live…before here?" He poured Taylor some orange juice from a small carton, and proceeded with the story. "Gambit was born in Louisiana, New Orleans to be exact. Started out as a thief an' ended up a master in a guild. Married even. Got tired a' that, moved up 'ere and when he found out Gambit was a mutant, Prof X asked me to join, said yes…'ere we are." Taylor knew that there was more to the story, but he would take whatever the mysterious Gambit would give him. "Can I ask why you brought me in here, and took my clothes of?" Suddenly Gambit's face changed to one of worry. He acted like he was afraid Taylor would be mad. "Well, Gambit 'tink dat you would be more comfortable in a bed, and in well…uh…less clothes?" He laughed, and Gambit breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to do this for me." "Don worry, mon ami. Gambit don' mind." Breakfast lasted for about thirty minutes, with plenty of small talk and bonding. Taylor told Gambit about his life before the mansion, being normal. He even shared with Gambit, the story of his father. "Dat sounds like…nevamind, Gambit talkin' crazy." "Do you always refer to yourself in third person?" This question seemed to upset him. "You don' like it?" The face that Gambit gave Taylor screamed, Say Yes! "Keep it, it's cute." He flashed a bright set of pearly white teeth, that Taylor had missed before. "Tanks." "No problem, um…can I get dressed now?" Gambit laughed. "If ya want." Gambit continued to eat, and dry himself at the same time, never catching the glances Taylor gave him, as he moved. Taylor picked up his clothes from the dresser and proceeded into the bathroom, thinking about his new friend, and hoping to develop it into something more.

As Taylor and his new Cajun friend walked towards the manor, Taylot couldn't help but feel drawn to him. He had changed as well, now donning a long brown duster, "Well, I had a really great time. Thank you." He inched closer to Gambit with every word. "Well, Gambit did to, mon ami." Seemingly avoiding a good-bye kiss, Gambit turned around swiftly and started walking towards his shack. Damn, so close. As a disappointed Taylor watched his new eye candy walk away, he was surprised to see a large shadowy blur jump from the dunes and tackle Gambit. Taylor jumped back. The creature stood up and Taylor saw the horror of the creature's face. Mangled facial features, tortured eyes, twisted snout, and pale yellow parchment-skin, riddled the creatures face. His body was unnaturally strong and large, and his claws and taloned feet made Taylor step away from him. Receiving a strange human vibe from the creature, Taylor tried to make 'contact.' "Um…Can I help you?" The creature's growls and grunting swipes, directed towards Taylor's face, told Taylor that he wasn't getting through. "Can we talk about this, I mean…" The creature let out a high pitch terrifying howl, causing Taylor's spine to tingle. "I can see you're a man of few words." Backing up slowly, Taylor decide that he might need to take a more offensive approach. He conjured some fog, as his hair stood out and eyes went white, to confuse it. The fog was tremendously thick and the creatures angry howling alerted Taylor that it had done it's job. "Well, he's pissed." Gathering more power, Taylor flew up out of the fog to search for his missing friend. Through the fog Taylor could see a blurry shadow lying still on the ground. "Got you, buddy." Flying into the fog, spreading it thin around his destination, Taylor found out that it wasn't his Cajun companion. The creature hurled itself at Taylor, knocking the breath out of him and him out of the air. With it's claws, it pinned him to the ground. This thing was very strong and Taylor could barely breathe under the pressure of the creature's bloodied hands. Apparently the creature had killed before, Taylor could sense it. Not wanting to be next, Taylor began to concentrate again. A dark cloud came over head as static electricity filled Taylor's white wind-blown hair. A giant bolt of lightning shot down through the sky, striking the creature squarely in the back. Shocked unconscious by the blast, Taylor pushed the creature off of him. "Gambit?" Taylor ran to where his friend had fallen, frantically searching for him. "Gambit? Where are you?" He stopped. A low growl alerted his attention to the water. With a powerful leap, the creature jumped up, regained its balance, and took a fighting stance. "So, you want more?" Taylor smiled, but, taking too much time, the creature swiped at his arm, cutting him above the elbow. "Shit!" Jumping back and using his telekinesis, Taylor held the creature in place, lifting him above the sand. Taylor jumped up and held himself midair and, Matrix style, kicked the creature into the water. Flying back into the surf, the creature sunk down under the water. "Take that you freak!" Congratulating himself, Taylor turned to begin the search for his still missing friend. He slid down behind a neighboring dune and landed on top of Gambit. He looked a little bruised and cut, but over all he was alright. "Hey, Gambit. Are you ok?" "Gambit fine, homme." "Well, I don't think we need to worry about that creature, for a while at least." "Gambit impressed. You' strong." Being on top of Gambit brought back memories of his long awaited good-bye kiss. As Taylor leaned into Gambit's strong body, he was thrust up into the air and thrown down, as the creature pounced on top of him. I wish he would stop that! As he wrestled with the creature, Taylor saw a small object flash and explode violently on the creature's back. It cried out in pain as blood dripped on to Taylor's face, it had been hit hard. Ignoring Taylor for the moment, the creature slashed at Gambit. That's when Gambit kicked into over-drive. Taylor had never seen anybody fight as fast as Gambit did. With quick thrusts and lightning-fast hits, Gambit attacked the creature, leaving his mark. The rage grew in the creature, and his rage overcame Gambit's skill. Slicing into Gambit's abdomen, one last time, the creature grabbed him and threw him aside. It regained its composure turned towards Taylor. Taylor was still recovering from the first blow he had received, and didn't have time to react when the creature jumped on him. As saliva and mud fell onto Taylor, a series of growls and grunts gave him the impression that the creature was trying to speak to him. "Sorry dude, I don't understand you." It growled in anger, apparently upset at Taylor's response. The creature wrapped it's large hands around Taylor's neck and began to close off his windpipe. Taylor could barely breathe, and with each struggle the creature tightened his grip. In one last effort Taylor reached up and touched the creature's face, blasting it with as powerful a mental attack as he could manage. Immediately, it stopped choking Taylor as a blank expression went across its face. Taylor should have let go. As Taylor began to recover from the momentary lack of air, a sudden surge of memories and data rushed into Taylor's mind. Taylor saw things that he's only seen in nightmares. This creature was a mutant experiment gone terribly wrong. This man was once a leading geneticist who had been working for a secret government agency in Canada and eventually for Magneto. From what Taylor could gather, he was the doctor that headed all mutant experimentation done in the past 20 years, he was the expert. He was the lead doctor that coated Logan's skeleton with adamantium. Taylor saw all the horrific details of each experiment. Unfortunately, after the experimentation, the doctor felt guilty about experimenting on mutants so he used his knowledge to slowly transform himself into this horrible creature. For years he had been traveling around, a mindless killing machine, going from town to town trying to find who he used to be. As Taylor tried to comprehend the event that had just occurred, the creature sat there, his mind drained accidentally by Taylor, who now possessed its entire mental capacity. Taylor was in control enough to see Gambit push the creature off of him. "You Ok, homme?" Taylor was shaking violently and breathing heavy. Gambit held out his hand to help Taylor up. When he didn't take the hand willingly, Gambit grabbed Taylor and lifted him up, into his arms. "Whas' wrong?" "I…I…I…didn't mean to…" He was stuttering rubbish that Gambit didn't understand, and was still shaking. "Do what? Gambit don' tink' you lookin' to good." Using both hands, he held Taylor in front of him and looked deep into his eyes. Even Gambit couldn't help but be frightened; he could see Taylor's fear. He knew that whatever Taylor saw was really freaking him out. "Gambit tink" we should get you inside, mon ami." Taylor didn't say anything, he lay in Gambit's arms, terrified. Lifting him higher and starting towards the school, Gambit held tightly on to Taylor, trying to convey safety. He couldn't feel anything but the mind of the creature, however, Taylor, subconsciously, held on tightly to Gambit's duster. The Cajun began to run, hoping Professor Xavier could help Taylor, the younger man's mind still flashing horrifying images of mutant procedures.

The mansion was no longer the quite mausoleum it was when Taylor left. When they entered the mansion Gambit yelled and screamed at the students to move, and reaching the kitchen set down Taylor in a chair. "Stay ere' Gambit gonna get Jean and the Professor." Gambit figured that no one would care to be in the kitchen at this time, so, leaving Taylor in his altered state, he went to find Professor Xavier. Gambit ran out of the room into the crowded hall. This was passing period and the students were in a frenzy to reach their next class. Pushing younger students aside, the Cajun made his way to Professor Xavier's office. Gambit pounded on the door for several seconds before Dr. Jean Grey opened it to him. One of Professor Xavier's first student, Jean was red-headed psionic with iron-clad willpower and an affinity towards leadership and power. Tall and slander, with light skin and deep meaningful blue eyes, Jean was something to look at. Her beauty was intelligence and her mind was equally as strong, second in power only to Professor Xavier. She gave a strong presence to any room. "Gambit, how can we help you?" Professor Xavier casually moved towards Gambit. "Is Taylor, sometin's wrong." Jean felt a twinge in his voice, a mix between fear and worry, over the younger man's health. It was sweet. Not wasting any time, Professor Xavier quickly scanned the frantic man's mind, to get a grasp on the situation. He turned to Jean and with a look of worry and determination uttered two words to Jean, that spoke tomes. "Move them." Immediately, unbeknownst to most of the students, Jean harnessed her amazing telekinetic abilities and pushed every student in the hall to the side, making a clear pathway for them. They ran from the office, directly into the kitchen. Jean ran in first followed by Professor Xavier and Gambit. Taylor was not in the place where Gambit had left him. Huddling in the corner, above the refrigerator, Taylor had barricaded himself from the world. A fence of static electricity surrounded him, and most of the kitchen utensils were currently floating around the room. "Gambit tol' you. He's scared o' sometin'." "Something is definetly wrong." Jean reached her hand out to try to touch Taylor, to examine him, but she couldn't. The field of lightning was too strong, even for her. When Jean reached out her arm he jumped back and changed his entire expression, his eyes staying blank. "Taylor…can you hear me? What's wrong?" "Stay away from me! I won't let you touch me!" Taylor raised his hands as his eyes drastically went white. "Jean!" Lunging towards her just in the nick of time, Gambit pushed Jean out of Taylor's line of fire as a huge jolt of electricity left his hand and shot into the cabinets behind her, annihilating the once mahogany covered plastic shelves. "Hurry, get out." Professor Xavier brought them both out from the kitchen into the now empty hall, classes had started again. "Memories." "What?" Both of them were puzzled by Professor Xavier's response. "He's seeing memories. His mind is not his own, it is currently filled with someone else's."

"Who's?"

"I'm not sure, but the memories are of Logan's procedure."

"What procedure?"

"The one that laced his body in adamantium."

"You mean…the mutant experimentation?"

"Yes."

"Oh my god. Is that why he attacked me? Did he think that I was one…of them?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Gambit." Jean turned to the now confused Cajun. "What happened outside?"

"Well, e' was out dere' and fell asleep, so's Gambit take 'im inside, let him rest. Then, once he wake up, we outside, sometin' attack us. Taylor touched the creature and e' started actin' like dis'…" Before he could finish the entire story, Professor Xavier interrupted. "It's alright, I searched your mind earlier, I know what caused this."

"What?"

"Well, It's not very common, but in the hands of an inexperienced telepath a lethal mind blast can turn sour. The mind of the other person gets pushed into the telepath's mind, changing them for a while. Taylor is one of those inexperienced telepaths, and now he is living the memories of the procedure."

"Then whatever attacked him must have had something to do with the experiments." "I think he was the doctor who presided over them." Jean was hoping he would not tell her that. What Taylor must be feeling, must be awful. It is. With a new confidence, Jean re-entered the room, ready to help Taylor. As they re-entered the kitchen, they found it almost completely demolished, and they found Taylor huddling in one corner on the opposite side of the room. Jean. I know Professor. Professor Xavier handed Jean a small syringe and she began to prep it. "Was' that gonna do? It ain't gonna hurt im' is it?" "No, it will merely sedate him for a while, until we can clear the images out." "Ok, just don't hurt im." Jean smiled at the worry that Gambit was showing over Taylor. "I won't." Using her telekinesis she gently flew the medicine over to Taylor and, as quickly and efficiently as possible, administered it to him. Taylor fell asleep soon after, still shaking over all that he had seen, but now resting in the arms of the obviously love-struck Cajun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- Work first, Play later**

Everything hurt. Taylor opened his eyes and was semi-blinded by the bright light that entered his pupils. Once his eyes adjusted, he could see the brilliant flood-lights that lined the ceiling of the Xavier Institute Med-Lab. For a school, the medical lab was state-of-the-art. Jean Grey worked primarily as the head physician. Taylor was aching all over, and vaguely remembered the fight that had occurred earlier in the day. Taylor thought about it and realized that he didn't even know if it was the same day. He had no idea what day it was or what time it was. Taylor was basically lost, but he felt relatively safe, knowing, at least, that he was still at the Academy. A sudden, and definitely un-expected, crash averted Taylor's attention back to his surroundings. "Hello?" Silence. "Hello? Is someone there?" He attempted to sit up, but a deep pounding in his head advised him to stay down. A hand grabbed Taylor's forearm. "Taylor, it's me." Looking up, Taylor saw the familiarly calming face of Dr. Jean Grey. "Oh, ok, I was getting kind of freaked." She smiled sweetly. "Its ok. You've been through a lot." "Um…what day is it? How long have I been out?" "Well, about a day. Are you still aching?" "Yeah, a little bit." She turned his wrist over and wet it with a small iodine swab. "Let me give you something to take care of that."   
"It's ok, really, I'll live." "No, I insist." She began to prepare a shot. He tried to resist and sit up, but she had strapped him down, and he lay in too much pain to actually use his powers. "Jean? What are you…" Taylor immediately stopped when he saw the bottle, it was a sleep-inducing hallucinogen, given to subdue psychotic patients. "Jean, what are you doing? I'm fine, really. I don't need that shit!" Now he really struggled. Pulling with all his might, he was able to break one strap on his arm. Lifting his right arm, he tried to hit her, but to no avail. She grabbed his arm and slammed it back onto the table. "What the fuck is going on!" He knew this wasn't Jean. "Well, you can't be making a lot of noise when we leave. And we'd prefer you to be crazy, when we release you again." "Leave? Crazy? I'm not going anywhere with you, bitch!" Using as much telekinetic strength as he could muster, Taylor flung a large desk chair towards the imposter, hitting her in the back of the neck. Taylor cut the restraints with an available syringe and jumped off the table, ignoring the pain(which had lessened when he got up), to see who this was. This couldn't be Jean. As Taylor examined her, the face and body of Jean began to melt away. Her light skin faded to blue, her red hair shortened, her kind eyes turned cruel and evil. This wasn't Jean. With the slender body of an acrobat, this blue skinned shape-shifter looked to be a menacing opponent. "Who is this?" Taylor had never been told of any other "evil" mutants, so he hadn't a clue who he was facing. Suddenly, with the force of several men, the mysterious woman sweep-kicked him to the ground. Taylor landed roughly and shot back up with the same force. Once he regained his balance and glanced around, she couldn't be found. "Cerebro!"

"Yes."

"Lock all doors leading in and out of the med-lab."

"Taylor, I regret to inform you but you do not have the authority to do that."

"I don't care just do it!"

"But Taylor."

"Cerebro! Do it! And get the Professor over here! Now!"

"Yes, Taylor."

Taylor began to look around the room, trying to find this crazy chameleon lady. Where are you, he thought to himself. "Looking for me!" He turned just in time to have her plant her foot directly in the middle of his chest, jump-kicking him into the examining table behind him. The force of the kick caused Taylor to dent the, now fallen over, table. She screamed a shrill call of attack as she jumped at Taylor. He held up his hand and she stopped, mid-air. "What are you doing?" Her face showed confusion at the use of his powers. "Did you forget that I have a few tricks of my own?" "This is all wrong, he said you didn't know about your powers, much less have full access to them." "Then I think you need a new source." As static electricity filled Taylor's now wind-blown white hair, he let go a bolt of energy to be reckoned with. The sheer power of the blast caused a cloud of smoke to fill the room. But, when the smoke cleared she wasn't there. "Great, now where did this bitch go?" Just as he said that, the door to the med-lab shot opened as Professor Xavier and Scott ran inside. "Taylor, What happened?" Scott placed his hand on Taylor's neck, which had a small cut in it. "Some crazy blue-skinned chick, who at first looked like Jean, tried to…well I guess kidnap me and…" "Mystique…" Professor Xavier interrupted. "Mystique, was that her name?" "Yes, she is a…" "Shape shifter, I know." Taylor was glad to have been able to finish Professor Xavier's sentence instead of the other way around. Smiling, the older man finished explaining. "She is quite a force to be reckoned with. I apologize that you had to face her alone." "It's ok, but I think she was working for someone." "Why do you say that?" "Because, she told me that 'he' said that I didn't know about my powers, and was really surprised when I fought back." "Well, we will look into it, but for now you need to rest, that's two major battles in a row." Scott began to lead Taylor towards the door. "Taylor, come on, Jean wants to check up on you. To make sure you're Ok." Scott put his arm around Taylor's shoulders. Taylor hesitated. "You sure it's Jean?" Scott smiled. "Yes, I'm sure."

Scott and Taylor walked down the hall towards the elevator, Scott still holding the younger man. Taylor stopped. Scott looked at Taylor, puzzled as to why he stopped. "Um…Scott?" "Yes." They had stopped by the elevator, and he waited before pressing the button.. "Can I ask you something?" "Sure, shoot." Taylor sat down in a chair. He was fidgety. "Go ahead and ask Taylor. It can't be that bad." "Well…I was wondering…well I wanted to know…what happened to you…I mean…why can't you control your optic blasts?" Scott sat down with a sigh, next to Taylor. "Oh, that." Taylor immediately felt bad about asking. "If you don't want to tell me…" "No, its alright. You see, when I was little, I was in a plane crash. We were traveling home from a family vacation…I think we had gone to California…well, I didn't know it at the time but It damaged my mutation controlling nerves." "But its amazing that you survived." "Yeah, it was a blessing." "So when did you find out?" "That I couldn't control my powers?" "Uh-huh." "When I got them." "What happened?" "Well, it started on prom night. That night I had a horrible headache. My headache went from a great pain to almost pure agony and I ran to the bathroom. I fell to the floor from the pain and when I opened my eyes again a beam of red energy escaped them. It took a few seconds for me to close my eyes again; it was as if everything was happening in a haze. I had taken out the ceiling of the gym, with one blink. Anyways, suddenly there were cops and ambulances all over the school. Several cops found me on the floor of the bathroom, my eyes tightly closed, tears forcing their way out though the closed lids. They began to hit and kick me, not sure of who or what I was. I tried to roll away from them, but it was no use. They yelled insults at me I didn't understand, all happening in a haze of confusion and pain. What exactly happened the rest of that fateful night is still not completely clear to me. The next I knew I woke up on a small bed. My body hurt all over and I felt something, probably blood, on my lip as I ran my hand over it. Before I had time to think I instinctually tried to open my eyes but couldn't. Some kind of tape was put on them, and as I felt my way I felt a metal ring over my eyes all the way around my head. Fear ran through me and I curled up in the corner of the bed, hugging my legs under me. I tried to listen for sounds I knew, my parent's voices, but only strange sounds of doors and locks met me. I felt my way around the bed and felt cold metal bars next to it; I had to be in a prison cell. I tried to contain my tears, my father's speech that "boys don't cry" was running through my head, but I couldn't stop them. Tears forced their way through the metal band and down my cheeks, mixing with blood, causing even more discomfort. It felt like I had been sitting there, feeling all alone and very miserable in the cell for days, when finally I heard my parents' calming voices. What happened next I'll never forget no matter how hard I try. I called for my mom. Quickly wiping away my tears so Dad wouldn't see them, I heard them talking to doctors and police. "Is this your son?" a stranger's voice asked. "He destroyed the School?" My dad's voice was cold and hard. "My darling boy," Mom's soft, whispered voice was clear. "I'm so sorry," I tried to contain my tears but they were clear in my voice. "He destroyed the school, 34 were wounded and 4 killed," It was the stranger's voice again, probably one of the cops. I was shocked to hear that I had killed someone. I thought I was a monster. The talking continued. "So, is he your son?" It was the stranger again but I barely noticed. Suddenly I felt a hand touch me, so instinctively I flicked away. "It's me," My mom whispered, soft and sad. I took her hand and held it, sitting myself as close to the bars as I could. She hugged me through the bars, I would accept any form of comfort now. "Oh, my dear son. May God have mercy on your soul," she was crying, I could hear it in her voice. "No. He isn't my son. Not anymore," Dad's cold voice said that and I felt like I had died. I couldn't understand why he was saying that, then. "Chris," My Mom's voice was pleading. "Come on, Ann," It was Dad again. Suddenly my Mom's warm arm was pulled back and I had never felt so cold and alone. "Mom! Mom, come back," I yelled as tears ran down my cheeks. "I love you, son. Be strong. And may God be with you. Always," Those were my Mom's last words before she disappeared. The words; "May God be with you because I can't" hung unspoken in the air between us..." Scott stopped, his cheeks wet with tears. Though the story was more than he was expecting to be told, Taylor had also shed several tears; he never realized how hard it was for Scott. "I'm Sorry for asking." He dried his eyes. "It's Ok, That was a long time ago, I'm just glad nothing like that happened to you." "Me too." "You're really lucky, most of the kids that come here are abused in some way because they are mutants." Scott put his hand on Taylor's shoulder. "Just remember, don't ever get too attached to something, you might end up loosing it." Taylor said nothing. A sort of silent bond had been formed, Taylor now knew a side of Scott that very few had probably seen. He was glad that Scott felt comfortable enough to tell Taylor all this. They continued upstairs to Jean's room, a silence gracing their presence all the way there.

After the real Jean's comprehensive examination, Taylor went back to his room. He was extremely tired from the events of the past two days, and, even though it was only seven, was ready to go to sleep. As Taylor was about to change, he noticed that the sun was setting. Taylor opened his window and went out on to the roof. He watched the sun set over the beautiful hills of Upstate New York. He felt calm, knowing that, in all this confusion, there was still a little bit of beauty in the most simple things. As Taylor sat there, gazing at the fading star, he heard footsteps. Taylor turned quickly and, just in time, saw Gambit climb over from the other side of the roof. He had never thanked him for rescuing him from the beast. Gambit had a smile on his face, making Taylor want to pounce on him and take him. He held back. Gambit sat down next to Taylor, and put his arm around the young man. "Gambit tink' you looking better." "Thanks." Averting his attention from Gambit, Taylor continued to stare into the orange depths of the sky. "Taylor?" "Yeah, what's up?" "Well, what you saw, when you…did that 'ting to that monster…was it dat' bad, homme?" Gambit could feel Taylor tense up at the mention of the incident. Taylor looked into Gambit's eyes, and he knew what Taylor had felt. "It…it was… to horrible for words. I saw… I felt everything." Just thinking about it made Taylor shake. Gambit tightened his hold on his friend. "Don' worry, Gambit won't let any'ting appen' to ya, mon ami." Slowly and readily, Gambit began to move closer to Taylor. As wonderful as the though of Taylor and Gambit was, he knew that it wouldn't be a long thing…with him it never was. The temptation was there, though, and heaven forbid Taylor don't give in. Taylor looked directly into Gambit's bright red eyes, and told him 'Yes'. The Cajun thief leaned towards Taylor and planted his lips directly on Taylor's. Taylor returned the force, exploring the man's mouth with his tongue. Taylor knew he should push him away but it felt so good, to good. Gambit pulled Taylor closer, their bodies melted into each other's, as the passion built up. Stopping abruptly, Taylor put his hand in front of Gambit's mouth, blocking another passionate kiss. "I really don't think we should be doing this." The Cajun smiled. "Gambit don' care if you don'." Continuing, Taylor kissed him hard, running his hands along Gambit's toned back. Taylor's hands began to explore the various 'curves' of Gambit's body, as passion got the best of him. Taking a cue from Taylor's eagerness, Gambit reached down and, with a gentle hopefulness, began to inch down the cloth that stood between him and Taylor's body. Then, realizing what was happening, Taylor immediately pushed Gambit back. He wasn't caught up in the passion now. "Hold on there cowboy." His face became disappointed and sad. "Gambit thought Taylor wanted 'im." His innocence made Taylor want jump on him and kiss him again, restarting the process, but he didn't. Suddenly the moment became awkward. A dark hand rapped at the window as Ororo stuck her head out. "Boys, are you planning to stay out here all night? I think it's going to rain." Taylor now knew her well enough to understand the irony of that statement, and he was grateful to her for saving him. To avoid more problems, Taylor stayed on the roof until Gambit was inside. The Cajun hugged Ororo before he left, and once the door was closed, Taylor crawled in through the window. "How long had you been standing there?" "I heard it all." "Wow, well…um…I guess…then, thank you." Ororo chuckled at Taylor's embarrassment. "He really doesn't mean to be so forceful. Remy, he's just lonely and, for some reason, trusts you. And obviously you don't have any problems with him." She loved torturing him over stuff like this. "Well, thanks anyways." Taylor hugged her and she left. Taylor couldn't help but think about what happened on the roof. He had Gambit, why didn't he do it? Slowly, Taylor got into bed. He did have feelings for Gambit, but was something else on his mind? Taylor knew something was up, but with such a busy night ahead, Taylor fell asleep quickly.

Taylor slowly cracked open his door. It was midnight. Nobody was out of their room. He slowly hovered into the hallway, taking extra care to not make any noise. The flared hem of his flame-print leather pants fell nicely over his black leather Italian platform boots, and his tight-fitting flame shirt fluttered gently in time with his hair. With the care and grace of a dancer, he quietly flew over to Kitty's room, making the trek to the next hall, and knocked on the door. Almost as if she knew he was going to knock, she opened it. Dressed in a tight leather mini-skirt with matching tank-top and bots, all donning a flaming detail, Kitty looked dressed to kill. Taylor had to admit, she had grown into her looks, and was now pretty hot. With the same care that Taylor was currently exhibiting, Kitty creeped gently down the hall. She was using her powers, lowering her body's density, to easily make herself silent. Without any weight on them, how could the floors creek? Kitty always did have fun with her powers. Continuing on their mission they both stopped at Theresa's door. She and Jubilee, a fireworks-generating emo-teen with the personality of a rebel, were already standing outside, prepared in clothes similar to that of Kitty and Taylor. Not needing any words to convey the pleasure of their matching outfits, Taylor smiled at them. Theresa was wearing skin-tight leather bikini shorts, a vibrantly-red halter top, and flaming thigh-high go-go boots. She was, without a doubt, the sexiest looking member of their renegade group. In true Jubilee style, she had donned a black leather flame-print trench coat, a pair of black leather Capri pants, and a sleeveless red silk shirt. All of them had also fixed a special kind of make-up, that resembled flames, around their eyes. They were all ready to go. Whispering, Taylor informed the group of the next move. "You guys look great, let's head to the garage." Like a team of spies, they made their way to the garage. As they turned the hall leading to the cavern of freedom, a loud deep voice stopped them. "And where do you think you're going?" Taylor knew the voice, he also knew the man's fragrant musky smell. "Well, Logan….we…um…where are you?" None of them could see the older teammate. Slowly Logan revealed himself, stepping from the shadows. "Well, where?" They didn't know what to tell him. They all figure they would get busted, so lying was the only alternative. Theresa stepped forward, with a step that exhibited a cocky confidence that seemed to challenge Logan. "We might ask you the same thing." Logan stepped closer to Theresa and, though he was as tall or shorter than her, made her seem small. "One, I'm a teacher here ya'll are students. Two, I'm in casual clothes ya'll are dressed like hookers." Logan glanced up and down Theresa's body. "Cheap hookers." Turning his attention to Taylor he changed his mind. He smiled secretly at Taylor. "Well, not all of you, but still." Stepping back with the slouch of loss, the girls began to force Taylor forward, noticing the favorable glances Logan made towards him. "Um...Taylor you tell him." "Yeah Taylor tell him." They all pushed Taylor violently forward, knocking him into the arms of Logan. Helping the younger man up, Logan glared at him. "So, Taylor, where are you all going?" Logan could sense a hint of fear in the kid's voice. "Well…" He decided to be completely honest, it was worth a shot. "We're going to a nightclub in the city, Jasper's. Tonight our band is headlining, and we don't want to miss it." Taylor explained in great detail, making his case. "Wanna go?" It took several moments for Logan to answer but once he did they were quite shocked. "Sure." Alleviating their shock for the moment, the unlikely group headed to the garage. Once they reached the garage, Kitty, Jubilee, Theresa, and Taylor proceeded to get into Scott's new silver Corvette. Taylor smiled at Logan, who was currently prepping his bike. Logan didn't favor Scott, and was all for stealing his things, but the action taken by the kids had surprised him. Meeting eyes with Taylor, he raised an eyebrow. "What? We're just borrowing it, we'll bring it back later." Not caring to argue, Logan got on his motorcycle. They took off and, speeding down the highway, arrived shortly in the city and, in turn, arrived shortly at the club. Racing from the car, they breezed by the doorman with a wave, until Logan walked by. Standing defiantly before Logan, the doorman wouldn't budge. "Buddy, you need to stop." Taylor immediately turned around, when he realized that Logan had been stopped. Watching the scene as he got closer, he could tell that Logan was upset. "Hey, if you really want to fight, I'll be happy to oblige." Taylor placed his hand on Logan's shoulder and faced the doorman. "Tommy, don't worry, he's with me." The doorman smiled. "Well, as long as he's 'with' you, he can go on in." "No, Tommy, wait…" Logan wrapped his arm around Taylor. "Taylor's so modest. Thanks, Tommy." Leading Taylor into the club, Logan laughed. "Whatever it takes." Finding an empty table, Taylor sat Logan facing the stage. "Watch, and tell me what you think." Logan smiled. "Alright, go on." Taylor walked to the stage and hopped up. Kitty, Theresa, and Jubilee were tuning up. They all looked great, matching and ready to go. He rocked the mic on lead vocals, Kitty played out on lead guitar, Jubilee rocked the Bass, and Theresa was slamming on the drums. As the curtain rose, they were introduced as "Whirlwind".

Several original songs and cover songs later, they thanked the audience and introduced the new DJ. As the girls headed into the crowd, to dance, Taylor walked back to the small table where Logan was waiting. Whipping the chair around, Taylor sat down with a smile. "Well, what'd you think?" "Not too bad." Taylor shot a sarcastic glare at Logan, changing the older man's mood. "Ok ok, you guys were good." "Good, I'm glad you enjoyed it." Taylor called over to the bar, asking the bartender to send over a waitress. Several moments later a bubbly little blonde girl, much older than Taylor, with too-tan skin and faded blonde hair, giving her a washed up look, walked to the tabled and took orders. Taylor quickly put in for a dry martini. Turning to Logan, who was glaring at the fact that he was drinking, Taylor pleaded to him to ignore the situation. "You want anything?" "Um…ok…a beer." Taylor turned the chair back around and made himself comfortable. "So, lets chat." "About?" Taylor smiled, evilly. "Well, how old are you?" Logan laughed. "Next question." Pouting, Taylor continued his interrogation. "Fine, who is the hottest X-man?" "What?" Logan was unprepared for that question. "Who is the most physically attractive member of the X-men?" "Well…" "Jean?" "No, not anymore…" "Ororo?" "Your mom is beautiful, but no…" "ok, um…Scott?" "What!" "Just throwing out ideas." "Well, throw that one into the trash, cause that ain't ever gonna happen." "Ok, then who is it?" Avoiding the question, Logan shifted his attention to the dance floor. "Hey, Aren't you gonna go dance?" "You want to?" "Me? No, I don't dance." "Aw, boo. C'mon." Pulling Logan up, both physically and a little bit telekinetically, he dragged his unwilling partner to the dance floor. "Taylor." Logan's un-happy tone made no difference. Knowing that Logan was extremely uncomfortable dancing, Taylor proceeded to melt into Logan and move. Slowly grinding with Logan on the dance floor, he felt him relax and go with Taylor. Feeling Logan's strong chest rubbing against Taylor's back, Taylor felt wanted, warm. Their hips moving in time with each other, Logan's arms wrapped around Taylor's own firm chest, the passion began to rise. As their dancing heated up, many other dancers began to move away, watching as the two became lost in each other. Logan smelt the passion and Taylor felt it. Pulling Taylor's willing head back, Logan began to move his lips closer to Taylor's sensuous mouth. As the moment grew, Taylor and Logan's bodies began to scream in desire. Taylor could feel Logan between the denim of Logan's pants and leather of his own. Just as Logan's lips locked with Taylor's, a cry came from the crowd that caused both men to loose all concentration. Taylor fell to the floor, as Logan backed away realizing what had happened. "Taylor!" Kitty and Theresa ran to Taylor, helping him up. "What are you doing!" "Nothing, just having a little fun, calm down." He was kind of shocked by their anger. "Calm down! We will not calm down. You were kissing Logan!" He glanced over to Logan, who seemed to be ignoring him, why was everybody mad at him suddenly? They had caused a scene, and now the whole club was staring. Great, like I need more un-wanted attention. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" "What?" Now they were accusing him. "We saw you kiss him, what do you say?" "How 'bout…Mind your own business." They both seemed shocked and hurt by Taylor's statement. "What do you mean?" "I can kiss who I want, when I want. Yeah, you guys are my friends, but you do not have control over my life. Get real." He turned to confront Logan, but as he looked he saw Logan walking outside. Running towards the door, Taylor came up just in time to see Logan punch the doorman. "Logan!" He yelled, but no response. He continued to follow his older teammate. Outside it had begun to rain, the sky was shady and black, as droplets of nature fell to their demise. "Logan." "Go back inside Taylor." His voice sounded harsh and cold. "Logan, please. Talk to me." He turned quickly and bolted up to Taylor, leaving only inches between them. "Talk about what? How I'm fun to fuck with? Or how about how your friends don't think I'm good enough for you? Or we could even talk about your relationship tendencies. Any of those topics good for you?" "What the fuck!" "Whoa, what?" "Why the fuck is everyone pissed off with me? Kitty and Theresa are pissed because…well I don't know why…and you too! Why are you pissed off?" "You're using me!" "So! That's what I do! You're hot and I want to use you for a while, but it may turn into more." "It may?" "Yeah. But not if you keep yelling at me." Logan's mood drastically changed as the rain pounded harder on both of the already soaked men. Logan didn't say a word. "Um...Logan?" Taylor saw Logan lift his head and plunge his lips onto Taylor's. Taylor melted. This kiss was more passionate than any he had felt. All thought went away from him as he sunk deeper into the kiss. Logan grabbed Taylor's body and lifted him, in the rain. Taking a cue from Logan, Taylor wrapped his legs around Logan's waist, holding tighter, wanting more. They stood there locked in a long passionate kiss, until neither of them could breathe. Gently, Logan set Taylor down on the ground. "Wow." Logan smiled at Taylor and grabbed the younger man by the wrist. "Let's go home." Taylor was still out of breath and barely pushed out a 'yeah.' In a much lighter mood, they both headed towards Logan's bike. They both jumped on and Taylor wrapped his arms firmly around Logan's strong chest, lifting up his shirt slightly and rubbing his toned stomach. Logan turned head back towards Taylor. "So…we're good?" "Taylor smiled and, leaning into Logan's ear, whispered softly. "We're great." Logan started up the bike and they took off down the road.

Breakfast was as crazy as ever. Taylor trudged in, knowing that he would have to face Kitty and Theresa, and possibly have to explain what happened between him and Logan. Its not like Taylor didn't want to tell everyone, but he didn't want to hurt anybody, namely Gambit. While Taylor was kissing Logan, all thoughts of Gambit went out of his mind, but as soon as he got home, he remembered. Well, here goes nothing. As he entered the room, the table was as noisy as ever. Everybody seemed caught up in some business of their own, no one even noticed Taylor come in. He noticed Kitty and Theresa, chatting away about some class assignment they didn't do. Gambit was no where to be seen, which worried Taylor a bit. His mom, who loved to cook, was busy in the kitchen, cooking up more breakfast. Then Taylor saw Logan. He watched, Logan seemed very distracted. His face showed signs of concern and worry. While watching Logan poke at his plate, he lifted his head and they locked eyes. Taylor smiled and waved slightly. This small gesture seemed to push Logan into high spirits. At the diversion of Logan's attention, the whole table turned to see who was in the doorway. "Taylor!" Kitty ran up to Taylor and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry about last night." "It's ok." "No, I feel really bad, and so does Theresa." Motioning towards Theresa, she came running and hugged Taylor equally as hard. "I am, really Taylor you were right, its none of our business who you…well…you know." Taylor stopped them both and, stepping into the hall to avoid a scene, had them follow him. "Wait. You think I…with Logan?" "Didn't you?" "No. I just kissed him, we got caught up dancing, it wasn't a big deal." "Oh, we thought that you were gonna…" "No." Taylor saw the scarlet embarrassment on Kitty and Theresa's faces. "It's just a little fun." While Kitty seemed to laugh at the situation, he could tell that Theresa was still upset over not being the object of Taylor's affection. "Can I go eat breakfast now?" "Oh, sorry." Kitty led Taylor back into the room, but as they entered the doorway, Logan grabbed Taylor's arm, leading him back outside. "Um…Logan, what's wrong?" All three stopped and faced the older teammate. "We got a mish, with Kurt and…you." Logan pointed at Theresa, who, suddenly remembering the mission, ran from the room. "Oh shit! I need to pack and get ready. See you guys later!" She left them laughing. "As funny as her freak-out is, we should probably head off too." Walking towards the bookcase in the hall, Taylor pulled out "Treasure Island," as the case slid to the side. Taylor proceeded into the hidden elevator. "Logan, you coming?" "Yeah, lemme' get something real quick." "Ok, see you in a bit." As the door slid closed, Kitty grabbed Logan's arm. "Hey, Logan, last night was wrong. I shouldn't have reacted like that. I want to apologize." Logan was pleasantly surprised by Kitty's confession. "Thanks Kit." She smiled. "I took it out of proportion, sorry. I guess I thought, well…I thought it was you, but it was Taylor. I'm really sorry." Logan was pleased with her apology, even though he and Taylor weren't finished with each other, it was better that everyone think they were. "Yeah, it's ok. It was a one-time thing, don't worry." "Well, you should probably get going." He pulled the book and entered the elevator. "I wouldn't want to be late. So we're ok?" "We're fine, see you around, Logan." The door slid shut, transporting Logan into the bowels of the institute, prepping him for a new mission.

As Logan entered the Ready Room, the room used to prepare for a mission, he saw Taylor waiting for him. With his uniform unzipped, chest exposed, Taylor looked very attractive. His white hair fell ever-so-gently onto his shoulders and his tight leather pants made his ass look great. "Well, what do we have here?" Taylor smiled as Logan ran his fingers down Taylor's chest. "That feels good." "Is this my treat or yours?" Logan bent down and, grabbing the zipper with his teeth, dragged it up to meet Taylor's neck. "Lemme get dressed and I'll meet you there." "Alright." Taylor turned and began to walk into the hangar. He stopped. "Wait, Logan." Turning around to face Logan, Taylor saw that Logan had already taken his shirt off and was now pulling on his jacket bare chest exposed. Logan stopped. "What's wrong?" "Well, are you sure about, well, us?" With a grin on his face, Logan sauntered up to Taylor and pulled him into him. Kissing his neck, he could feel Taylor's breathing change. "I'm oh so sure." Logan let go and went to finish dressing. "I'll meet you in there." "So, I'm you're boyfriend?" "Or boy-toy, whichever you prefer." "Hey!" "Just kidding." Taylor smiled and turned back towards the hanger. "See you in a bit, babe." Logan chuckled as Taylor left the room. "He's crazy, but cute." He finished getting dressed and walked into the hanger.

The Blackbird was fired up and ready to go when Logan finally entered the hanger. As he stepped up the ladder to board the jet that hid under the school, he saw Taylor waiting in the cockpit. Kurt and Theresa were there to, however, so they couldn't really "do" anything. He slowly trudged up the ladder and sat in the remaining chair. "All right, you all ready, lets go." The Blackbird was a sight to be seen, especially when taking off. As the two large doors above them opened, the jet began to rise slowly, at first, but then with more speed as the doors finished opening. Looking out of the windows, Taylor could see the other students watching the machine rise from the basketball court. It was amazing. And once they were in full speed, skipping on the upper atmosphere, almost nothing could detect them. The Blackbird was truly awesome machinery. Kurt pressed a small green button, setting the jet on Autopilot, and dramatically flipped around his chair to brief them. "Greetings to you all." Logan rolled his eyes. "Where are we goin', elf?" Shocked at Logan's rudeness, even though it didn't bother the others, Taylor touched Logan's arm, sending a small electric jolt through him. Turning quickly, Logan gave Taylor a 'why did you do that?' look. Speaking telepathically to him, he voiced his complaint. That was rude. He doesn't care. But I do. What's the big deal? I don't want to date an asshole! So I'm an asshole? Just, nevermind! "Kurt, where are we going?" "Very well, we are going to Jaddar, Norway where apparently a mutant colony is located in an abandoned underground sewage treatment plant. From our sources we have learned that Magneto may already have some of his lackeys out there looking, so we need to be careful." Accessing the onboard computer, he brought up a 3-dimensional map of the area they were to explore. "The plant is big, so once we land, Logan, you and Taylor search over here..." Pointing to different areas of the map, he directed them where to go. "...And Theresa and I will search over here. Now if anyone finds something we call the others. Agreed?" "Agreed." As Kurt finished, Theresa stood up and confidently addressed him. "Kurt, I think I should go with Taylor?" Theresa smiled at Taylor, who turned away and blushed slightly. "Well, as much as one of us would like that, since this is Taylor's first mission, he really needs to be with someone more experienced, you understand, right?" "Yes, I understand." Slumping down into the chair, Theresa was blatantly pouting. A small buzzer sounded as they approached their destination. "Let us prepare for landing." Kurt flipped his seat back around and took the Blackbird off of autopilot. One could easily see the mountains of Norway down below them. As Kurt brought the jet down towards the rocky purple giants, Taylor smiled. This was Taylor's first mission, and was very excited. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he was ready for anything. Kurt slowly landed the jet and led them out towards the mission. Walking through, what seemed to be, a wasteland, they seemed to be a bit lost. "So where is this place…err…Kurt?" Taylor could feel Logan struggle to not say 'elf,' and he was grateful to him. Thanks. Logan smiled at Taylor. Just fer you, kid. "Over there." Kurt pointed to an old abandoned mine entrance. "There is the entrance." They walked, or in Theresa's case, flew, to the entrance. Taylor looked inside; it was very dark. "Why does this suddenly seem like a bad idea?" "Because it's dark and scary…" "…and practically screams 'Slasher' movie." While Theresa couldn't understand how they had done it, Taylor had just completed Logan's sentence. Taylor's older partner handed him a flashlight. "This'll brighten things up a bit." "Thanks" "Don't mention it." Taylor clicked on the flashlight as he peered down the bleak corridor. and walked inside. Theresa followed right behind him, holding on to his hand. The walls were wet and sticky. As Taylor placed his hands on the wall, he felt sick to his stomach. The walls were covered with grime, dust, and a green mud that smelt of rotting eggs. "This used to be an old Sulfur mine." Kurt explained things to them as he ran and Bamf-ed his way down the opening. They continued down till they reached a large metallic looking door. As they examined it, they found it to be extremely heavy…and locked. "I think we found the plant." The sarcasm in Taylor's voice was audible to the deaf. Instantly, Kurt teleported. "Now where's he going?" "Your right," they heard his voice on the other side of the door "but there's no way to open it." "Move." Logan pushed both Theresa and Taylor back as he ran towards the door. He extended his claws and sliced a big "X" into the door. The pieces slammed into he ground as a hole opened up. "Nice." As they walked, they ran into a large fork in the road. Glancing down both corridors, Kurt turned back to them. "Now we split up." Kurt dragged Theresa away from Taylor, as they headed down their separate ways. After they were out of both sight and hearing range, Taylor jumped on Logan. Madly kissing him, Logan pushed Taylor up against the cool steel walls. "I thought they'd never leave." "Right." Logan unzipped Taylor's jacket, and began stroking the younger man's bare chest with his tongue. Logan delighted in the small hitch it caused in Taylor's breath, and the obviously hard pleasure it produced. As their kissing heated up, a twinge in Logan's nose caused him to drop Taylor. He fell to the earthen ground with a thud. "Ouch!" Logan simply quieted him and, helping him up, began to creep down the hall. "Logan? What is it?" Taylor thought he was simply playing, but, when he extended his claws, he knew something was serious. Coming up behind him, and zipping up his jacket, Taylor gently placed his hand on Logan's shoulder. "Logan?" "We need to get going, someone's here." They began to walk swiftly, almost jogging, down the hall, to the source of Logan's distress.

Taylor and Logan walked down a metal corridor. "Logan, please, can we just get back to…well you know. I want to…" Logan interrupted him. "Taylor, I love you, but this isn't the time or the place for this conversation. We need to keep quiet, my senses are goin' crazy, someone is here." "So I'm not important enough for an old sulfur mine?" "Taylor, please…" "No, fine. Fight. Kill. Whatever, just don't expect me to forget this and just start making out with you again. You'll need big expensive gifts to open this shirt again." Rolling his eyes and sighing heavily, Logan continued to creep. "Fine." They continued, in an awkward silence, until they reached a large room. With broken undistinguishable lab equipment, Taylor couldn't tell if this was a medicine lab or something else. The walls were the same metal that ran through the mine, but the floor was plain solid concrete. "What is this place?" Taylor had seen something like this before, but he wasn't sure where. A strange booming voice answered Taylor's question. "Your tomb." Not expecting to not have felt an enemy, Taylor quietly whispered into Logan's ear. "Logan, who is it?" Logan, claws extended, teeth clenched, was ready to fight. "Sabretooth." Taylor was not expecting what he saw, he thought of a tiger, not a monster. Donning tattered cloths and mangy blonde hair, Sabretooth seemed like a homeless freak, but the bulging muscles, inch-long fangs, and talon-like nails, told Taylor otherwise. This guy looked to be a force to be reckoned with. Taylor could also sense a strange bond between him and Logan, much like that of one-time mortal enemies, and by Logan's look, that hadn't changed. Two others followed him from the darkness. "That's Toad, and I'm sure you remember Mystique." Taylor recognized the blue-skinned shape-shifter, but the bug-eyed man was new. With skin the color of the green liquid that covered the walls, and a stench equally as repulsive, Toad's name began to make sense. "Taylor." "What? Now you want me?" "Taylor!" "Fine, what?" "Get ready to fight." "These goons?" "Yes, these goons." "Alright." With the snap of a finger, Taylor flew into the air, generating lightning and wind around him, adding a menacing appeal to his white eyes and wind-blown hair. "I'll take Sabretooth. Can you…" "…Take Mystique and Toad? Yeah." Expecting pre-fight banter, Taylor wasn't prepared for them both to jump on him, pulling him to the ground. Throwing Mystique to the side, and knocking her temporarily unconscious with his mind, Taylor grabbed Toad's tongue as it whipped towards him. "My mother told me about you. The lizard who doesn't die when he's supposed to." Holding on to the pink mass of oozing saliva and squirming muscles, Taylor felt in control. "Do you know what happens to a toad that gets struck by lightning?" "I've already 'eard this one, from yur mum." Taylor grinned sarcastically. "Then you obviously didn't learn the first time." Drawing on as much power as he could, Taylor sent the largest bolt of lightning he has ever manifested, right into Toad. Taylor could smell the smoking flesh, and the char marks were very prominent. "Well, that took care of that." "Wow, Taylor. I'm impressed." Taylor turned around, just in time to see Theresa walk up to him. "Theresa? Where's Kurt?" "He went to help Logan, I was going to ask if you were ok, but obviously you are." "Did you see Mystique?" "What? She's here?" "Yeah, we need to watch out." "Can't we just." She leaned in and kissed him, her mouth was powerful and strange. He realized why. "Theresa, you should know that this was my very first kiss…" "…well, was it…" "…with a girl." Lifting her up, with his telekinesis, Mystique changed back to her usual sly form. "And for the record, it sucked." Scoffing at Taylor's sarcasm, Mystique tried, with no avail, to break the bonds of her mental confinement. "Hm…Too bad." "For you." "Please, you don't have the heart to kill again." She was partially right, but her mocking tone was enough to send Taylor back over the edge. "Try me. Goodnight, bitch." Once again drawing power, Taylor gave the same treatment to Mystique as he did to Toad. Her blue skin faded slightly, when he finally set her down, dead. "I'm sorry, both of you." Taylor had never killed anyone, and now he had just killed two in a row. And the fact that they were simply fighting to be free, like him, made the situation harder. He wasn't going to ever get used to this. Grieving would have to wait, because when he heard a horrible crash, he remembered that Logan was still fighting. "Oh my god! Logan!" He quickly flew towards Logan, hoping he was still ok.

As Taylor came upon the scene, all he saw was blood. Everywhere there were spatters and pools of blood. The two feral men were wrestling each other, with no clear winner. As one dug their claws into the other's flesh the other met them with the same action. Hovering above this bloody fight, he wasn't sure if he would be able to help Logan without hurting him as well as Sabretooth. As the two wrestled, Taylor could see no way to separate them. Whoa! Duh, Taylor! Gathering up his telekinetic strength he thrust the two fighters apart, holding them in place, several feet above the air. While Logan was startled and eventually appreciative for the break, Sabretooth snarled and growled, obviously angered by Taylor involvement. "Stay out of this you little twerp!" "Hey, Mr. Rude." "Leave him alone." "What's amatter Wolverine? Need a kid to fight your battles." "He's new, he doesn't know how we work this out, yet." "Um, excuse me. Can you guys stop talking about me like I'm not here?" "Can't handle it?" "Ok, you shut up. Logan, where are Theresa and Kurt?" "I'm not sure. Taylor leave, let me handle this." "Put me down you fuckin' brat!" "Taylor!" "Ok, that's enough. Logan, chill out!" Motioning towards the door, Taylor threw Logan away from the fight and, utilizing more mind power, shut the door, sealing him alone with Sabretooth. Sorry, Logan. Taylor, no, don't do this. You can't win! Watch me. Focusing his attention back on Sabretooth, he lowered himself to his new enemy's height. "So you're the dreaded Sabretooth." "Why don't ya let me go, and I'll show you why I'm dreaded." "How 'bout not?" Taylor shot Sabretooth back into the wall, denting it with the impact force. Quickly recovering, Sabretooth lunged at Taylor, pinning him to the floor. Slashing quickly at Taylor's face, blood droplets hit the floor each time. Maybe I should re-think this. Pushing Sabretooth off with his legs, Taylor flew up and surrounded himself with electricity. "You wanna play rough? We'll play rough." Taylor lunged at Sabretooth, flinging ball after ball of electricity at him. Hey! It's working. I just hope I can keep it up.

Logan slammed into the door. "Open, damn it!" He knew that nothing he could do would make Taylor change his mind, he was stubborn that way. Although, Logan had to admit, Taylor could probably handle it. He was one of the strongest mutants that Logan had seen. Tirelessly Logan slashed and hacked at the door, trying to find some way to open it, Taylor obviously was not letting him in. After nearly an hour of work, the door slid open. Thinking it was his own strength that opened it; he congratulated himself and ran in. Unfortunately, he realized the real reason why it had opened. As he ran in, he saw a horribly bloody scene. The first thing that grabbed Logan's attention was a mangled mass of charred flesh, that he took to be Sabretooth. Smiling he turned to congratulate Taylor, but fell to his knees when he saw him. Laying outstretched on the floor, Taylor's white hair was soaked in blood and wounds covered his body. With a look of pure pain and sheer exhaustion, Taylor lay there, not moving, not even breathing. Now Logan knew why Taylor had opened the door, without any power in him, he couldn't hold it. Logan gently lifted Taylor, hoping to see some sign of life or movement. Logan saw nothing. As his spirits fell, a small twinge in Logan's mind caused him to stop. Told ya so. The message was weak, but he knew it was Taylor. Laughing, Logan lifted his young friend up and moved towards the exit. Talking into a small communicator, Logan located Kurt and Theresa. "Kurt, we're leaving."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4-Complications in Secrecy**

Light hurt. As Taylor opened his eyes, he was made aware of this fact. He woke up on a small, slightly propped up, gurney, in the small med-lab on the Blackbird. His vital signs were being monitored. The annoying beeping that occurred with each heartbeat even bothered him. Slowly lifting himself into a sitting position, Taylor glanced over to the small single chair. Logan was uncomfortably slumped over the arm, asleep. Logan, wake up. Sending rather frightening images into Logan's head, he woke up quickly. Once he noticed Taylor, Logan's demeanor changed from one of fear and worry, to one of happiness and relief. Taylor could feel the change. Quickly moving to Taylor's side, Logan was now standing next to the bed. "So, sleeping beauty, you're finally awake."

"How long have I been out?"

"Almost two days."

"Two days! Wait…shouldn't we be at the mansion already?"

"Well normally yeah, but Kurt thought that our normal, quick route, of skipping on the upper atmosphere wouldn't be to good for your body. So we're flying the normal way, the slow way."

"That sucks, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, you were awesome, you defeated…well…everyone ."

"Oh, right, that's while I feel like shit. God, my head hurts."

"It should, you used up all your energy to kill Sabretooth, Mystique, and Toad. A feat that we've been trying to accomplish for years."

"Guess I don't know my own strength." As true as that statement was, it still seemed funny. Taylor began to laugh but, still being weak, began to cough. His coughing increased into a fit as his mouth began to shoot out small spurts of blood. Logan wrapped his arm around Taylor. "Taylor, hold on. Breathe." Taylor began to breathe heavily, but slowing his coughing, none-the-less. "Wow, ok, that hurt…at lot. So add laughing to my 'Not Do' list." "You're practically dying, but you still have the energy to be witty." Taylor smiled weakly. "Well, I got to do something to help myself heal." "It's Ok, I'll help ya heal." Grabbing a small rag, Logan began to clean up the small traces of blood. Once done he hugged Taylor sympathetically. "No Logan don't." "Don't what? Its just blood." "No, don't help me. I don't want you…well anyone…to think I'm, like, weak." "Taylor, you are not weak. When I see you, I see a very handsome and brave adult, who needs some help occasionally." Taylor's eyes lit up. "Really?" "That's all I've ever seen, from the moment I met you. So don't worry, I'll help you in any way." Reaching out, Taylor pulled Logan into him and kissed him. He knew, at that moment, that it wasn't just another crush.

When they got back to the mansion everyone wanted to know how Taylor was doing. Pushing through, with Logan's hand in his, Taylor simply spewed the same line. "I just need some rest, I'll be fine in the morning, really." As they acsended the stairs, Logan began to resist Taylor's pull. "Taylor where are we going." "Logan, just come on." They reached Logan's room and Taylor pushed him inside. The door was shut and locked by Taylor who turned towards Logan. Logan folded his arms, half in protest and half in wonder. "Kid, whatcha doin'?" "Shut up, Logan." He slammed Logan against the wall and kissed him thoroughly. Taylor moved one of his legs between Logan's and pressed down on the other man's groin. Moving his leg up and down with a thrusting motion, he could feel Logan through the leather of his own suit, and knew he wasn't the only one who would be satisfied with a few more kisses. Logan pulled Taylor closer for another kiss, this one deeper and less tentative than before. His hands, meanwhile, roamed Taylor's muscular body, searching for the zipper that would allow him to peel the younger man's leather suit off. Taylor's hands did a little exploring of their own. Logan was already stripping. "Taylor, you sure..." Logan threw out the words between kisses. "I'm sure." Taylor took a deep breath, allowing Logan to catch up to Taylor. "Logan, I think, I think I might've fallen in love with you." Logan spun them around, pushing his body into the one of his soon-to-be lovers. Logan kissed him again, biting him on the neck softly. Taylor arched his body into Logan's seeking more friction. "Next question, Should we be doing this?" "Shut up, Logan." Logan spun them around and pushed Taylor back on to the bed. Logan pulled the rest of Taylor's clothes off, taking in the pleasing sight of his lover naked. "You're beautiful, you know that, don't you?" "Logan, will you please just shut up." "No! I'm complementing you, live with it, its called foreplay." Taylor smiled and began to run his tongue down Logan's thigh. "No, this is foreplay." "Huh, wow, yours is so much better." Logan trembled slightly as Taylor proceeded to the other thigh. "Now, Logan? Can we get back to this?" Logan laughed and pounced on him, kissing and sucking his mouth while his hands explored. He could feel hands exploring his own body, running over the lines and curves, learning how he felt. He pulled away from the mouth and started to explore. Taylor playfully licked his lips as Logan extended his claws. Logan's blades carefully traced a line from Taylor's waist to his knee before they sank back into his knuckles with a sigh of metal on metal. Taylor shivered in enjoyment. Then, he traced his way with teeth and tongue over the fine bones of his face, across the sharp chin and graceful throat, down the smooth chest to the shallow dip of the navel, then along the narrow hips to the hardness between them. "Logan where you been all my life?" Wolverine laughed and grabbed both legs pulling Taylor up into his lap. "Been right beside you, all you had to do was reach out and touch. What happened to not talking?" They both laughed. He wrapped his arms around his lover and lifted him up into a sitting position against his own broad chest. Taylor's arms wrapped around Logan's neck as his legs encircled the older man's waist. "I'm touching now, Logan, I may not let go." "Suits me, Kid." Taylor was pretty sure that Logan would not gut him in the morning, or pretend this never happened, nor would he run away if he wanted this to be more than a friendly trust. "I never saw you even look at a guy before." "You thought about me before?" "I'll never tell that." The kid's teasing voice suddenly changed and his scent with it. He bent to kiss Logan, burying his hands in the wild tangle of dark hair. "Lets do this." There was a brief moment of unease as Logan laid him back down and positioned himself to enter his lover's body. The unease lasted only a moment though. Logan stretched out over him and whispered gently into his sweat soaked hair, "Don't be afraid." "I not afraid, Logan. I want you." Logan pushed inside him, carefully, trying to go slow enough to minimize the pain. The kid was so hot and tight, it was harder to maintain control than he had imagined. It felt like heaven. Beneath him, Taylor felt as if he were being ripped apart until at last, Logan was resting deep inside him, he relaxed his death grip on his lover's shoulders. The shifting was almost more than Logan could resist, he shuddered deeply holding back his own climax. After the initial pain, the sensation of being filled, desired, and protected was incredible. Logan moved slowly at first, in long, easy strokes until Taylor was rising to meet each thrust. The sounds and scents were quickly eroding Logan's control. The rhythm grew more frenzied, his strokes more powerful. He worried about hurting the younger man, but Taylor was meeting him motion for motion and crying out his name in undisguised pleasure. Taylor's fingernails were biting into Logan's back, but the scratches would heal almost before they were made. Taylor cried out once more and pushed down hard driving Logan even deeper inside the fiery heat. Hot tremors ran through Taylor's entire body. Logan could not hold back any longer. He gently withdrew and collapsed onto the bed beside the younger man pulling him into his arms. He smoothed the wet hair back from the handsome face. Taylor's eyes looked up into his sky blue ones. Logan laughed. "You're gonna feel that tomorrow." "I'm feeling it now. I don't care though. I love you, I trust you." Logan wrapped his arms around Taylor. "I love you too. I never thought I'd say that to anyone." "You've done this before haven't you?" "Yeah, I have." Logan sat up slightly. "You had, hadn't you?" Taylor knodded his head. "Yeah, but not in comparison." He smiled again and kissed Taylor again, long deep and gentle, trying to convey his love. Apparently Taylor felt it. "I do love you."

"Do you think we could stay like this forever?"

"Why Logan, I never saw you as the romantic sort." Taylor's voice was slightly teasing, but it was comfortable, almost saying yes in itself.

"I never have been. But there's something about ya... Well, could we?"

Taylor turned and kissed him again. "I hope so. You aren't ever leaving me, right?" "Never." "Good." They fell asleep feeling their thudding hearts slowly begin to slow down.

Logan watched water and soap flow down the naked body of his young lover. As Taylor reached his dripping hand out into the cold air of the tiled bathroom, Logan proceeded to hand him a towel. "Thank you." Taylor stepped out of the shower and proceeded to wrap it around his waist. Logan laughed. Puzzled, Taylor walked up to him and put his arms around his new love. "What?" "What's with the towel?" "What do you mean?" "Well, its nothing that I haven't seen." Pushing him off Taylor began to dry. But after that, Logan seemed to be really quiet. "Logan? Are you okay?" As Taylor looked up, Logan snapped out of a short trance "What? Um…Yeah, why?"

"You seem...I don't know, tired or something."

"Well, We didn't get much sleep" Logan laughed a little bit.

"I know." Taylor smiled in response.

Logan grew quiet again. "Logan, what?"

"Well…oh! How are ya doin' from yesterday?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like with your powers and stuff."

"Oh, I'm fine, good as new." He shot a short burst of electricity from one hand to another, demonstrating his "okayness."

"Good." Once again Logan grew quiet. "Logan, please, just say it." "Ok. Taylor, try not to tell anybody about us. Ok?"

"Why? Are you …? Do you not…?" Taylor's face became hurt and child-like. Quickly, Logan grabbed him, lifted his chin up and kissed him gently. "No, god no." He kissed him again, hard and meaningful. "It's just that, well...you know old Cyke, he'll get all weird on us." "I guess you're right….oh my god! Cyclops!" Snapping his head around, he looked over at the clock. "Oh, shit!" Taylor ran into the room, still wet, and began to get dressed, borrowing Logan's clothes. (Even though they were too big.) "Fuck, class started a half-hour ago!" Taylor finished dressing and ran up to Logan, feeling his chest and kissing him thoroughly. Logan returned the kiss with an even hotter fuller one, pulling Taylor in again. Taylor went on, pulling Logan's shirt off again. "Wait! Logan!" "C'mon." "No I have to go." "You sure you can't?" "I can't, I have full classes today, so keep yourself busy, until four," Taylor kissed him lightly. "Later." Taylor ran out the door. Logan smiled "Got to admire the kid's….enthusiasm."

Very late, and very tired, Taylor ran into Scott's morning class, 45 minutes late, and quietly took a seat. Hoping that he wouldn't be seen, Taylor snuck into a seat in the back, while Scott's back was to him. "Taylor..." Scott turned around, he obviously knew. "...Why are you late?" "I'm Sorry, it won't happen again." Taylor was almost pleading with him. "No it won't, see me after class." Great. "Now class..." Scott continued like nothing happened, while Taylor endured snickering and giggles from the other students at his lame attempt to lie. Taylor noticed Gambit, who seemed to be the only one not amused by him. Trying to get his attention, Taylor smiled and looked into his deep red eyes. Gambit did nothing, and turned away. It became the longest thirty minutes of Taylor's life. The bell rang, signaling the children's freedom and they all began to run. After everyone had left Taylor walked up to Scott. "What's up?" He tried to sound cheerful. Scott crossed his arms; apparently it didn't work. "Why were you late?"

"Scott I'm so sorry, I woke up late."

"Its Mr. Summers right now, Taylor."

"But…"

"No, there are many things that I can handle, but tardiness is not one of them."

"But…"

"No 'but'. What if this had been a life or death mission?"

"But it wasn't, its just some stupid class!"

"I'm glad you take your work seriously."

"Scott, that's not what I meant…I mean, I didn't mean…"

"What were you doing that made you wake up late?"

"I was...um...busy."

"Doing what?"

"...um…well….that is to say, I was playing…cards."

"Alone?"

"No..um..."

"With who?"

"With Logan."

"With Logan? Why with Logan?"

"Why not?"

"You expect me to believe that you were playing cards with Logan at midnight and that is why you are late to my class."

"Well, yeah."

"Why? Couldn't stop a card game?"

"Well, maybe it was more than a card game."

"What was it?" Scott's tone was harsh and angry, making Taylor feel very insignificant. He had never seen this side of Scott before.

"It was a "role-playing" game." Taylor couldn't help but laugh at his sentence.

"What? Why are you laughing? This is a serious matter!"

"Calm down, Cyke, What do you care what we were doing? We just didn't get much sleep last night, okay, we were busy."

Scott's expression went blank. "What did you call me?"

"Right, sorry, Mr. Summers."

"No what did you just call me in your sentence?"

"Um…Cyke, why?"

"Who did you hear that from?"

"Logan, why?"

"Because he only calls me that when he's in a "good" mood."

"So?"

"You don't understand..." Scott's expression turned sour. "... Logan is happy when one of three things occurs. One, he kills somebody he doesn't like."

"That's exaggerating a litt…"

"He hasn't been on a mission in three days."

"Right, fine."

"Two, he gets completely drunk."

"But he can never get…"

"We have no alcohol here."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Or three..." Scott stopped and a shocked expression covered his face.

"What? What's three?"

"...sex."

Taylor eyes went wide, he was officially freaking. Scott had figured out what happened last night. "You can't tell a soul!"

"How could you two do that?"

"Well, actually…"

"Don't answer that!"

"You asked."

"Taylor, I forbid you from…"

"You what? Forbid me to what? Forbid me to fuck Logan's brains out? Is that what you forbid me from doing?"

"Taylor!"

Taylor began to think, then it hit him. "Scott I'd keep your mouth shut or I'll tell everyone about your little, how should I put this, indoor excursions."

Scott's power quickly faded. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I remember a few nights ago. I heard some passionate noises. So, I went to go check it out. And it led me to the kitchen where I heard your name." Taylor was now grinning from ear to ear and Scott was freaking

"Who did you hear say it?" Scott tentatively asked, afraid of the answer.

"How should I put this, I heard the voice of a one accented pointy-eared fellow." Scott fell back into his chair. "So don't tell anyone about me and Logan, Ok Cyke?" Taylor left the room, still grinning widely. Blackmail is fun.

Taylor casually walked down the hallway, satisfied with his victory over his older teammate. Noticing Gambit walking out in the courtyard, he ran to catch his friend. "Gambit! Hey, mon ami." He tried to imitate Gambit's accent but was very unsuccessful. "Whats up? You okay?" "Gambit fine." Taylor really liked Gambit referring to himself in third person, he thought it was cute. Gambit stopped at a bench and sat Taylor down. "What's wrong?" Gambit leaned in a kissed Taylor. "Did you feel anyting'?" Taylor knew he did. "Definitely." Gambit laughed. "Figures, but I doesn' matte' though."

"Why?"

"Gambit saw you and Logan the othe' night."

"What do you mean?"

"At da club."

"Jasper's, you were there?"

"Yeah, I go to see you, kinda surprise ya, and I see you kissin Wolverine." Taylor had completely forgot about Gambit that night and last night.

"Oh, that. Look Gambit…"

"Gambit don' wanna know. Go, be wit' Logan." He stood and walked off. Taylor knew it was pointless to follow, he was upset and would have to adjust. Great way to screw up a relationship Taylor. Good job. Taylor stood up, and strangely got woozy. "Whoa." He stumbled and sat back down, his head was spinning. Slowly, Taylor stood and began to walk to the bathroom.

After Taylor had left Logan got into the shower. The water did feel good, cold and refreshing. "Hope old Cyke isn't to hard on him." After wrapping a towel around his waist he walked back into the bedroom. Since they hadn't really slept, he decided that it was a good time to catch up. He was free till four. I don't have anything to do till then so… He pulled the sheets back and laid down. He looked over to where his young friend had been sleeping that night, and as he moved up the indention with his hand, he felt something. Turning to see what his discovery was, he saw a small spatter of blood. "Shit." No wonder Taylor was so anal about making the bed himself. He jumped out of bed and walked over to the other side of the bed. Bending down, he sniffed the air and the sheet, imediatly he knew that it was Taylor's. "Oh no…God, I knew he was still weak." He leaned against the wall and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't help but blaming himself. Just as he sighed, a figured ran into the doorway. "Logan, what time are we...oh my god, what is that?" Logan did remember, he had promised Betsy Braddock to spar. Betsy, or Elisabeth, was a highly trained telepath with the grace of a dancer and the skill and body of a Japanese assassin. Her thickly accented British voice, gave away her origins, and her bright purple hair and tight fitting purple outfit gave away her job. She had been a model, and her beauty was almost unmatched, as was her skill in martial arts. "Logan, what is that?" "It's Blood." "Who's?" "Taylor's." Grabbing Logan she pulled him into the hall, she was very strong. "Well, you can't keep drowning in your blame, help me find him, so this doesn't happen again." "Your right." "I know I am." She began to run down the hall. "You check his room and the other dorms, I'll check the classes." "Betsy!" She stopped running and turned to face him, her hair falling gently over her face. "Yes?" "Thank you…" "I know, now go!" As she turned the corner, he took off towards Taylor's room.

Taylor slowly trudged into his bedroom, he decided to simply skip his next class, Kurt would forgive him. "God, I'm tired." Locking his door, he collapsed on his bed, weak from the surmounting events of the past few days. Using his powers started hurting him more and more, he could barely lift a glass of water to his lips, with his mind. As he drifted into a slumber, a small creaking alerted him to a presence in the room. He could sense someone, but in his weak state, there was little more he could sense. "Hello?" Taylor heard nothing. "Logan? Gambit? Kitty?" He still heard nothing. Hearing the noise again, he decided to be ready. He got up and moved over to look to the other side of the bed, nothing was there. Taylor wasn't sure, but he knew someone was there. Slowly he moved back to the other side, lying back into place. As soon as he laid down to sleep, they appeared. Several large men, hidden with some sort of mechanical device and equipped with helmets to hinder telepathy, probably thanks to Magneto, lunged at Taylor. Flying up, Taylor kicked one from his bed, slamming him into the dresser. The dresser snapped under the man's body weight, and the man seemed disabled for a little while. The other two men grabbed Taylor's feet, pulling him down onto the floor. Screaming, Taylor felt his ribs crack as one of them kicked him hard in the stomach. The other man proceeded to wrap Taylor in some sort of carpet. Trying to struggle, but in too much pain to affect his captors, Taylor began to scream. The last thing he remembered was a large metal bar hitting him, as he was knocked unconscious.

Logan ran faster than he's ever ran, to Taylor's room. Knocking on the door, he hoped that Taylor would just open the door and be fine. When no one answered, Logan knew something was wrong. Stepping back a few steps Logan rammed the door, shattering it into several wooden fragments. "Taylor?" The room was a mess. The dresser had been torn into pieces, the bed was overturned, and almost everything was broken. Clothes and small collectables of Taylor's were scattered over the floor, and glass surrounded the walls, as each window had been broken. Sniffing the air, strong images of a fight and a struggle filled his sensory nerves. He could smell Taylor's sweat and fear. Once again, pushing his body to it's max, Logan ran through the halls, trying to reach Professor Xavier's office. As he slammed through the door, Ororo, Scott and Jean, stood up, slightly startled by the event. "Logan, what's wrong?" Logan was trying to catch his breath, but even with his healing abilities, his speed had taken a lot out of him. "It's… Taylor..." Breathing between words, everyone knew something was wrong. Professor Xavier dropped his tea, as he scanned Logan's mind. They all turned to him. "Professor, what?" Ororo was now thoroughly freaked out. "Xavier, what about Taylor?" "He's been kidnapped."


End file.
